A Mission Between Rivals
by Daniloveswriting
Summary: The Shinsengumi have a mission for Kagura and to her dismay, it's a mission with her number one rival, the Sadist, Okita Sougo. An OkiKagu story. Rated T for violence and maybe swearing in future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

The Yato girl stretched on her cabinet shelf (or as Gin-Chan calls it, her room.) She yawned tiredly after she had been woken by knocking. "Umm… Kagura-chan," came a voice from outside her door, she knew it immediately it was Megane.

"It's too early," she groaned loudly and turned over in her bed. She closed her eyes and attempted to get back to sleep. However, Shinpachi's knocking persisted, causing her to shout, "GO AWAY, MEGANE!"

Shinpachi ignored the nickname, which he very much disliked, and replied, "There's someone here to see you."

She slid open the door and looked at him, "who is it? Is it Papi?" Her tone was calmer, happier now. Just the thought of her Papi visiting made her happy. Maybe he had brought her presents, she thought, grinning. Unfortunately, Shinpachi shook his head and she frowned. Who else would want to visit her now? "I want to go back to sleep, it's too early!"

"It's 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Kagura-chan! Come on, get up, please!"

"Fine, I'll get up but you have to buy me some sukonbu later!"

"Okay."

She glanced around and saw someone she really wasn't expecting. Light brown hair, red eyes, Shinsengumi uniform, bored expression. It was the sadist. A frown formed on her face. "I'm definitely going back to bed," she muttered and turned around.

"Kagura-chan," Shinpachi said, sighing.

"Leave me alone, I don't want to talk to that sadist!" she yelled.

"Oi, oi, China, you're hurting this poor policeman's heart," came the voice which Kagura considered the most annoying voice in the universe (except Megane's singing voice.) Kagura shuddered slightly at the thought of that useless four-eyes singing.

"Shut up, Sadist!"

"What is it, China? Are you too shy to talk to me or something?"

"No, I just don't want to waste my time on a loser like you."

Sougo sighed, realising that for once, provoking her wasn't going to get her attention. He ran a hand through his hair as he muttered, "look, China, I really need to talk to you." He glanced at the lazy, silver-haired samurai, who was reading a Jump and then at the four-eyes, who had started tidying up. "Preferably alone."

"H-huh? Why?" Kagura said, turning around to face her rival. Her cheeks were heating up for some unknown reason. Why did her stomach suddenly feel all weird and fluttery as well? All the sadist had asked was to speak with her alone… It was that word '_alone'_, it made her feel all funny inside. She frowned, confused by this new emotion.

"Nee, China, why are you blushing? This is strictly business, an order from my higher ups," he deadpanned. She stared him.

"I-I am not blushing! You of all people could not make me blush!"

"As if I'd want to make a monster like you blush anyway," he retorted and turned to Gintoki, "Danna, I'm borrowing this monster."

"Okay," the samurai replied, his dead fish eyes not leaving his Jump.

"Come, China," Sougo said, grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the Yorozuya Headquarters, Kagura biting his arm in protest as he did so.

"Gin-san, was it really okay to let Kagura go with that sadist?" Shinpachi asked.

"She'll be fine, she's a tough girl," Gintoki replied, however he was unsure whether it was a good idea to let his beloved daughter go with Soichiro.

* * *

_Hiya, thanks for reading. This is my first Gintama fanfiction so it's probably not great. I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Please, review and give me improvements. I shall write and post the next chapter as soon as possible.  
I don't own Gintama or the characters. :P_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

"What do you want, Sadist?" Kagura asked when her rival had finally released her. They were outside in town now, quite far away from the Yorozuya. "And why aren't Gin-chan and Shinpachi allowed to hear?"

Sougo wished he had been allowed to stay at the Yorozuya and talk to her in front of the four-eyes and the Jump-addict because it must have looked weird for the other citizens to watch one of the Shinsengumi drag a young girl, who was biting his arm and occasionally letting go to shout things like, "Gin-chan, Shinpachi, HEALTH ME!" to which he replied, "it's help me, idiot!", down the street.  
Sougo looked down at his tattered sleeve and sighed.  
"You really wrecked my uniform, why would you bite me?" he deadpanned, clearly he wasn't at all bothered, however Kagura still allowed herself a small smile for she was happy she could ruin something that belonged to that idiot. Kagura then raised an eyebrow; he had just completely ignored what she had said.

"You didn't answer my question," she responded simply.

"And you didn't answer mine."

"You didn't answer mine first."

"So?"

"Ugh, you're annoying. I'm going home," Kagura mumbled as she turned around to walk away from the irritating policeman. She felt his hand grab her arm. "You do realise I am a Yato and much stronger than you. Let go of my arm before I rip it your arm off."

"As if I'd let a girl like you do that to me. Oh wait, are you a girl? No, you're clearly a monster," he retorted, with a monotone voice and an expressionless face. He knew he had struck a nerve because as soon as he had finished saying it, a leg had swung round and only just missed his face. It was a good job that he had such fast reflexes. He looked at the young Yato female, her face was contorted with rage. His lips curved into a slight smirk, he really loved to make her angry. Her other leg swung round in an attempt to trip him up but he jumped over it. "Calm down, China girl. I don't have time to fight with you. I'm here on business, remember?" She froze mid-kick and then dropped her leg. She had a sudden idea.

"Fine, buy me some dango and I'll listen to what you have to say," she grinned as she said this. Kagura really loved the idea of a free meal. Sougo sighed but eventually agreed to her proposition. Why couldn't Kondo-san have sent Hijikata to do this instead? Now, Sougo had to feed that monster.

* * *

The two of them sat next to one another. Sougo ate his first skewer of dango and then watched as Kagura started her fifth. He groaned and then muttered something about deserving a pay rise for having to do this. The red-headed Yato turned to him and looked up at him with her bright, cerulean eyes. She has nice eyes, Sougo thought and then immediately questioned himself. What was he thinking? That monster does not have nice eyes and even if she did, they certainly did not match her ugly personality. He'd even seen that beast pick her nose before. His mental rant was interrupted by Kagura herself. "So, what do you tax robbers want with me?" she asked.

"Have you been watching the news recently?" he asked in response, his almost-red eyes were now staring off at the sky. He was purposely avoiding looking at her to stop himself from having weird thoughts.

"Of course! Gin-chan makes us watch the news every morning, but Megane says it's so he can see the weathergirl that he loves though."

"So, you've heard about the new serial killer then?" he questioned.

"Yes, although, I don't know much about it, Gin-chan always turns it off there because he doesn't want to damage my innocent mind," Kagura said proudly.

"Innocent mind? You?" Sougo scoffed.

"Shut up, Sadist!"

"Look, China Monster, I don't have time to argue. Unfortunately, Kondo-san forced me to be the one to talk to you. I don't know why he didn't make that bastard, Hijikata do it instead but I'm here to talk to you about a job so just listen, okay?"

"You're the one who laughed at me and what if I don't want to do your job?"

"You're the person who has the best chance of being able to do this job. I would prefer not to involve a poor person like you but I'm being forced to. If you don't do the job, I could easily arrest you for you moving here illegally and for disturbing the peace by fighting with me. On top of that, people will die, China, do you want that?" The Sadist said all of this sounding extremely uninterested by the whole matter. The young girl stared at him. She could be arrested and she really didn't want people to die because of her… but she didn't want to do a job for that arrogant sadist.

"I'll do it," she said reluctantly.

"You don't know the full job yet."

"I don't want people to die for me." Sougo looked at her almost surprised. Even though she was a monster, she was compassionate and kind-hearted deep down. "Plus, I can't give you the pleasure of arresting me. What will my reward be?"

"The satisfaction of working with the Shinsengumi."

"Not good enough."

"The pride of ridding Edo of a well-known criminal."

"SADIST!"

"Fine. ¥37000."

¥37000? That was quite a lot for one job, especially if she was doing the job alone… She could keep all the money to herself as well. Kagura smiled at her rival, "and some more dango… and some sukonbu!"

"Okay, okay, but you have to wait until after the job."

"How can I trust that you'll pay me?"

"Because, unlike your beloved 'Gin-chan', I am not poor, therefore I don't mind paying people who do work for me."

"Don't talk about Gin-chan like that, he may be useless but he's much better than you."

"Tch, whatever you say, China," Sougo mumbled. For some reason, it annoyed him when she spoke about that stupid natural perm.

"So, what's the job?"

"Come with me to the Shinsengumi Headquarters, it will be fully explained there," Sougo muttered, at this point, he just wanted to be rid of his red-haired rival so he could go for a nap. Kondo and the rest of the Shinsengumi could explain the job to that idiot.

* * *

_Hiya, thanks for reading.  
A big thank you for everyone who reviewed the last chapter- I'm glad you enjoyed it, I know it was really short- and, please, review this one too and give me some ideas on how to improve. This chapter's not very long either, I struggle with writing long chapters. Sorry, I think this was pretty OOC for both Kagura and Sougo, it's really hard writing in character. I'm glad that some of the people who reviewed the first chapter said they were intrigued by it because that's what I was aiming to do.  
The payment part was hard for me to write because I'm not great with money and I have no idea how much the Yorozuya would be paid for a job but I don't know, that seemed like an appropriate amount to me. Even if it isn't, I don't think Kagura would really notice because Gin doesn't pay her anyway. Haha. :P  
Anyway, many thanks, everyone!  
I will update as soon as possible.  
I don't own Gintama or the characters. :P_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Kagura sat in front of the, in her opinion, useless men of the Shinsengumi. She stared at them with tired eyes. Kondo Isao cleared his throat and began speaking, "S-so, Kagura-chan-,"

He was quickly cut off by Kagura. "Call me 'Queen-sama', Gorilla," she said grinning. She felt extremely powerful against Anego's stalker.

"Queen-sama," he began again.

This time, he was cut off by Sougo. "Don't let her boss you around, Kondo-san, she's just a brat," he deadpanned.

"Shut up, Sadist!"

"You shut up, China!"

"Sougo, stop it. This is important business. She's the only one we can trust to do this job," muttered Hijikata, clearly bored.

"Yeah, Sadist! You need me, so shut up! Otherwise, I won't do the job!" Kagura almost sang with delight. She then proceeded to laugh somewhat evilly. Sougo glared at Hijikata. Why did that bastard have to get involved and give the red-haired monster ideas?

"Oh, Queen-Sama," Sougo said, copying Kagura's sing-song voice, "you know you have to do the job… Or else!"

Kagura glared at his now smirking, sadistic expression. She hated to admit it, but she knew she was just going to have to put up with him and get the job over and done with. She really didn't want to get arrested or for people to die. Also, the idea of being paid by the tax robbers cheered her up a bit.

"So, what exactly is this job?" Kagura asked, not responding to her rival. His smirk fell slightly at the fact she didn't retaliate like she normally would. He wanted her to get upset, he wanted her to attack. This was when he realised just how much he enjoyed fighting with her, it allowed him to let lose without any worries. He didn't need to hold back against her for he knew, even though he would never admit it to her, that they were on par with one another.

"Sougo says that you know about the current serial killer that has been on the news for some time now," Kondo said, "however, the news doesn't show the full story. We have been studying him for quite some time and one of our spies, Yamazaki, has found out a lot about him." When Kagura looked at Yamazaki, he looked up at her and then quickly looked away… In fear? She gave him a weird look and shook her head. That Yamazaki was the Shinpachi of the Shinsengumi. "Yamazaki."

Yamazaki looked up at Kondo and then cleared his throat. "After following him around, I have discovered that the individual is incredibly strong and is killing for sheer bloodlust. The individual has thick black hair, green eyes and each time I have seen him, has been wielding an umbrella. However, I have reason to believe, he hasn't been using his umbrella to fight as each time I have seen him, his hands have been covered in blood, although, no one has seen him fight so I cannot be sure. We can only be sure he is strong, because numerous of those he has killed are, or were, samurai. He also has a pale, translucent skin tone."

Kagura gulped and whispered, "Umbrella? Strong? Pale? He's a Yato." Her eyes widened at the bloodlust. She was immediately reminded of her older brother. Many Shinsengumi members nodded.

"That's what we thought, China. Kondo gave us all strict instructions not to go against him because of this," Sougo said, sounding bitter. He had really wanted to fight him. If that brat was allowed to fight against him, then surely he should be allowed to too. He had expected the China girl to be ecstatic about this, but when he looked at her, she was staring at her lap with wide, scared eyes. "China?" He asked, with a raised eyebrow, "what's wrong? Are you scared?"

"Me? Scared? Gyahaha, don't be stupid, Sadist!" She said, her voice cracking awkwardly as she spoke. She couldn't admit it in front of the Shinsengumi, but she was freaking out. Last time she fought against another Yato, she lost control and that was because she was worried about Shinpachi. If she hadn't lost control, she and Shinpachi would have died. Surely she wouldn't be able to defeat this Yato… she wasn't strong enough. She'd been fighting against her Yato powers for years now so she wasn't strong enough or experienced enough to defeat another one. "I… I need to speak to Gin-chan and Shinpachi about this…"

"Kagura," Kondo began but upon the glare he received from a certain red-haired girl, coughed a few times and started again, "Queen-sama, we told you this here and not when they were around for a reason. They can't know."

"Why not?"

"Do you really want them involved?" Hijikata asked, "You must know that when they hear about your mission, they will both want to fight alongside you. A Yato clansman is strong, you know that… If you tell them, you will be putting them in danger."

"I… Yeah, I know."

Kagura mentally swore, she was hoping for Gin-chan's guidance on what to do, but the tax thief was right, she couldn't get Gin-chan or Megane involved.

"We will discuss the mission plan tomorrow," Kondo said, "now, let's talk about your payment."

Kagura immediately forgot about the fact that the mission could be the death of her, and focused on the payment. It made her really excited… She could earn her first wage.

"I've already discussed a payment with her and she accepted," Sougo mumbled.

"Really, Sougo? How much did you offer her?" Kondo asked.

"¥37000."

"And some sukonbu and some dango!" Kagura added, proudly. She was so happy with how much she was earning for just the one job. On the other hand, Kondo didn't look very happy.

"Sougo, I know that you know this job is worth much more than that," Kondo scolded.

"Really?" Kagura asked, surprised. She didn't really understand money, especially because she didn't even get paid by useless, unkempt Gin-chan but to her ¥37000 sounded like a lot.

"Of course, the pay is ¥100000," Kagura's eyes widened in glee as Kondo said this, but her mood became negative again as the Gorilla/Stalker continued, "obviously, this is a difficult job and you'd have to be very skilled to carry it out. On top of that, it's pretty risky; you could die on this job. You realise that, right?"

"Of course I realise it, I am a Yato. I know of the strength of a clansman. You do realise that this job will be almost impossible for me," Kagura confessed, "Most Yatos spend their lives training whereas I have been desperately suppressing my abilities… I may have the strong blood of a Yato and the same blood that runs through that baldie, Umibouzu's veins, but unfortunately for you, I am different."

"Of course, Kagu-… Queen-sama, we're not going to send such a young woman to fight a strong, bloodthirsty Yato alone."

"W-what? Who?"

"You will be fighting alongside our very own 1st Division Captain, Okita Sougo," Kondo said happily, "he's our best swordsman and Hijikata told me that the two of you really got on."

"WHAT?" The two rivals yelled together. Unbeknownst to them, they both thought the exact same thing as they turned to glare at the mayonnaise-obsessed samurai. _**Die, Hijikata, you bastard.**_

* * *

_Hiya, thanks for reading.  
Also, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It's very helpful when people review!  
Aeneid, I have never read Durarara, is it good? I used your idea, thank you so much!  
I hope you all enjoy this chapter!  
I will update as soon as possible.  
I don't own Gintama or the characters. :P_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Hijikata told Kondo that they should work together? The two of them?

Both the young Yato female and the sadistic Shinsengumi captain glared at none other than the black-haired vice-chief. Hijikata almost felt fear as he saw the dark, demonic aura surrounding the two rivals, however, instead of fleeing like most people would, he smirked back at them. This infuriated them further to the point that Kagura picked up her umbrella and Sougo unsheathed his sword.

"Toushi, you said that they'd be happy to work together," muttered the chief of the Shinsengumi as he watched the two enraged individuals run at Hijikata. Kagura reached him first and aimed her kick at his head.

"Why the hell would you tell the Gorilla that I would want to work with that arrogant, sadistic idiot?" she screamed as she attacked.

"Now, now, China, you don't want to hurt this poor policeman's heart," he mocked, pulling a pretend pained expression as he too aimed his attacks at the unfortunate samurai. Luckily, this unfortunate samurai had great instincts and was able to dodge each and every hit.

"Stop now, otherwise I'll have to arrest the two of you," Hijikata said tiredly. He had expected this to happen but he decided it was worth it to upset Sougo. The two stopped attacking him and wordlessly went back to sitting down. They were calmer now anyway, after blowing off some steam in the way they thought was best, violence. "Anyway, even if you don't want to work together on this mission, I still think you should. You're both exceedingly strong so, together, you will have a good chance of defeating the Yato and on top of that, due to your intense dislike of one another, you won't get worried and risk your lives blocking the moves the enemy is using on the other one."

"Hijikata-san, I'd much rather take on this Yato alone, China will just get in my way," Sougo mumbled, annoyed by the whole situation.

"Sougo," Kondo said, "you have fought with Queen-sama before and you didn't defeat her, did you? This Yato will be much more powerful than she is. If you fight him alone, you have next to no chance of victory. None of us would. Not even Queen-sama, who is a Yato."

Kagura was becoming more and more content with the idea. Although the sadist would annoy her and possibly get in her way, he was stronger than Shinpachi so she wouldn't need to worry about him as much. He also didn't matter to her as much as Shinpachi did so if Sougo was in danger of death, she wouldn't lose control, would she? Wait, she didn't want the sadist to die… not because she liked the sadist, she didn't want anyone to die. Surely she wouldn't lose control this time; she only did last time because she needed to save Shinpachi. What if she wouldn't be able to defeat this guy without letting the beast within free? Did she care enough about Sougo to let loose? He was always there when she wanted to let off some steam by fighting and she really did enjoy fighting with him. It wouldn't be as fun fighting with anyone else, Sougo was safe when he fought against her… She knew she wouldn't hurt him and deep down, she didn't want to hurt him, even after he mocked her with his taunting words. Maybe she did care about him after all? Her life wouldn't be the same without him.

"I'll do it," she said confidently. The eyes of everyone in the room stared at her but she only noticed one pair, the pair of eyes that were reddish brown. They were surprised; she knew nobody expected her to agree with that. Everyone must have been aware of her dislike towards the stupid sadist. "I don't want anyone else to be killed by this guy and I think that Sadist and I have a good chance of defeating him," she allowed herself a sigh before she said the next word. "Together."

Sougo sighed and then muttered, "I suppose I might as well, but, China, when we do fight him, you better not get in my way."

"Me? Get in your way? Don't be ridiculous, you idiot, it's much more likely that you'll be getting in my way!" Kagura replied.

"A weakling like you would definitely get in my way," he retorted.

"I'm not weak, you bastard!" she argued, pointing her umbrella at her rival. Sougo opened his mouth to argue but he was interrupted by Kondo.

"I want the two of you to be nicer to each other. This is an important mission and I can't have the two of you mess it up because of your fighting," he scolded.

"Be nicer to that sadistic freak?" Kagura yelled, "I don't think I'll be able to do that, Gorilla!"

"And you want me to be nicer to the monster girl? The thought of that sickens me, Kondo-san," Sougo deadpanned.

"Monster girl? I'm going to kill you, asshole!"

"Asshole? China, you don't want to break this humble police officer's heart by saying the sort of rude things a brute would say. I thought you were a girl?" He looked her up and down. "No, wait, you have the figure of a boy."

"I am a girl! I'll have you know, my boobs have grown." The Shinsengumi members all looked uncomfortable as she said this. "And did you just call yourself 'humble'? You are the opposite of humble, you arrogant idiot!"

"Tch, girls don't usually talk about their 'boobs' in front of large groups of men, no matter how small and insignificant those boobs are. It's a crude, unladylike thing to speak about, brat," Souga retorted, but recently he had noticed his rival's breasts getting larger.

"S-shut up, Sadist," she said, cheeks getting pink, she knew that he had won that argument.

"Resorting to 'shut up', China? Pathetic."

"I said, shut up!"

"Sougo, stop winding her up," Hijikata muttered.

"Don't get involved, bastard," Sougo replied, "I'm not going to listen to you."

"Listen to Toushi, Sougo. I want you to be nice to Queen-sama. This mission is important. It needs to go well," Kondo said.

"Fine," Sougo muttered, he then put on a fake smile and looked at Kagura. "Kagura-chan, would you like a drink?" His voice was sickly sweet. Kagura laughed hysterically.

"Sadist, what are you doing? You're so stupid!" She said, giggling. Come to think of it, she was sure that was the first time he'd ever called her 'Kagura'. She blushed slightly, even though he was putting on a stupid voice, she liked the way it sounded when he called her by her name.

"Or would you like a snack?" He asked politely, laughing silently as he saw her eyes light up. "Gluttonous pig," he muttered under his breath so quietly it was inaudible. Kagura stopped laughing and decided to play along with his game.

"Why, Sou-chan, thank you very much for your kind offer, I would very much like a snack," she replied graciously. She quickly noticed her rival's frown. What was with him? Had she upset him? Little did the girl know, Sougo's deceased sister often called him 'Sou-chan' and her calling him that reminded him of his cherished sister. "Sougo?" Kagura asked, concerned.

He smirked up at her. "My, my, China, you just called me 'Sougo'… And what was with that tone of voice? Were you worried about me? Oh, China, I didn't know you felt that way about me..."

"I was not concerned about you! I was just going to make a comment about how ugly the face you were pulling was."

"Okay, okay, whatever."

"Is it really that hard for them to be nice to each other?" Yamazaki whispered to another Shinsengumi member. Kondo sighed and opened his mouth to give them a lecture but was swiftly interrupted.

"Don't worry, Gori-san, Sou-chan and I are going to be nice to each other from now on. Come with me, Sou-chan, let's go get something to eat," Kagura said, pulling a sweet smile.

"But you just ate loads of dango," Okita argued.

"Sou-chan, that's not enough for me. Come on; let's leave Gori and Mayora and the other idiots in peace."

"Oi, oi, you'll get fat if you eat like that… no wonder Danna is so poor… Speaking of Danna, why don't I just drop you off at the Yorozuya? You can eat more there. Anyway, Danna and the four-eyes are probably worried about you. It's already 9 o'clock."

Kagura pouted, knowing that the food at home would just be rice but she still agreed. She couldn't wait to get away from the sadistic idiot and the rest of the tax robbers.

"Remember, don't speak of your mission at home," Hijikata muttered to Kagura as she left. She mumbled an 'I know, idiot' in response and then headed out and began walking home. She glanced at Sougo, who was walking with her.

"I don't need to be escorted home, you know," she pointed out. Sougo frowned, it was already dark and he felt a need to walk her home. It was almost as if he, Sougo Okita, the sadist, was worried about his number one rival. He shuddered, what was going on with him? What was this new, irrational need to protect China? He couldn't understand it at all. He knew he didn't have feelings for that brat; she was disgusting, obnoxious and loud-mouthed and on top of that, with her monstrous strength, she was definitely in no danger walking home alone, even in the dark.

"I… just wanted to speak to Danna quickly," he murmured when he noticed her staring at him with those adorable azure orbs. Damn, did he just mentally call China's eyes adorable? What was wrong with him? He was clearly going insane. He shook his head, trying to erase the insane thoughts he had just had.

"What are you doing, Sadist?" Kagura asked, giving him a weird look.

"Nothing. I see you've stopped referring to me as 'Sou-chan'," he replied. He was relieved by this; he really didn't like her calling him that. Only Mitsuba was allowed to do so.

"You sound happy about that. Why? Don't you like being called 'Sou-chan'?" she asked, feeling mildly curious by the sadist's strangeness.

"Just be quiet about it, China. Don't stick your snotty nose in other people's business."

"My nose isn't snotty. Gin-chan says it's clean because I pick out all of the snot in it."

"That's disgusting, idiot."

"You're disgusting, idiot."

"I don't pick my nose."

"Well, you should because I can see a massive bogey in it."

"Thank you for that, China."

"Tell me why you don't like being called 'Sou-chan'."

"No."

"Why not, Sou-chan?"

"Because I don't want to. Don't call me that."

"But, Sou-chan." She pouted.

"ONLY MITSUBA CAN CALL ME 'SOU-CHAN'!" Sougo yelled, causing Kagura to jump. Wait? She was confused. Who was this Mitsuba? Sougo's girlfriend, maybe? A strange emotion bubbled up inside her. She'd experienced it before, when she saw other people eating. The useless four-eyes called it 'jealousy' and said he felt it whenever he saw that his precious Otsuu-chan was on a date. But Kagura had no idea why she felt this jealousy.

"W-who's Mitsuba?" she asked, nervously.

"Hm…? My sister," he answered, his voice had reverted to its original bored-tone. Deep down he felt remorse just thinking about her, but he couldn't let China see him being vulnerable.

"Oh…" was all she said. She didn't answer any more questions. She had judged from the atmosphere that the sadist didn't want to talk about his sister. She had a good idea though, when she was next at the Shinsengumi Headquarters, she was going to ask Mayora.

They were just outside the Yorozuya now. Kagura slammed open the door and yelled, "GIN-CHAN, SHINPACHI, I'M HOME!"

"Kagura-chan, you've been out for ages! It's past 9 o'clock now!" said Shinpachi as she walked in. She continued past him and saw her boss lazing about on the sofa just as she had left him.

"Ah, Kagura! I was worried sick about you," Gintoki said, looking up at her from his Jump.

"You didn't act on these worries though, did you?" she mumbled. "By the way, Gin-chan, the sadist is here."

"You've been with Soichiro all day?" Gintoki looked concerned.

"Yes, unfortunately. He said something about wanting to talk to you," she replied and then turned and yelled, "MEGANE, I WANT SOME RICE!"

Shinpachi jumped at the young girl's loud screams. "Y-yes, Kagura-chan," he answered. He quickly cooked Kagura some rice and she ate it as the poor, glasses-wearing boy got back to tidying the Yorozuya home. Sougo allowed himself a small chuckle as he watched this. They sure were odd people.

"Oi, oi, four-eyes, you shouldn't let a little brat like that boss you around," He muttered to Shinpachi. Kagura glared up at him momentarily, but then continued eating; she had decided her food was much more important. Sougo sighed slightly, the girl hadn't reacted as badly as he had wanted her to. Shinpachi shrugged off the Shinsengumi captain's comment.

"Sadist, I thought you wanted to talk to Gin-chan, if not, just leave," Kagura said, looking at him as she began her second bowl of rice.

"Just shut up, you stupid pig."

"You shut up, tax robber!"

"You should watch what you eat, pig-girl, you don't want to get fat… Never mind, too late, you already are," he said in his normal monotone voice. Then he headed over to the silver perm so Kagura wouldn't think that he had walked home with her just because he was concerned for her safety… he most certainly wasn't, by the way.

"Ah, Soichiro, Kagura said you wanted to talk to me," the lazy man with dead-fish eyes mumbled.

"Ne, Danna, it's Sougo. SOU-GO. Tch, you useless samurai," Sougo deadpanned, enunciating his name to try to clear it up to the samurai.

"Whatever, Souji. What did you want?"

"Not 'Souji'… Just wanted you to know, we'll need you to send the girl down to HQ tomorrow morning."

"You want my daughter to spend more time with you tax robbers? You'll probably be a bad influence on her!"

"If anything's a bad influence on China, it's you lot. Tch, what would we influence her to do? Pay taxes? Pay our employees? Obey the law?"

"Your gorilla boss is a very bad influence… I don't want our Kagura to become a stalker or an embarrassment to society."

"Don't talk about Kondo-san like that… It's the useless, unemployed samurai like you who are an embarrassment to society. Anyway, just send her to the Shinsengumi HQ tomorrow morning. She knows why."

"What do you idiot policemen want with Kagura?"

"You and four-eyes are not allowed to know. Boss' orders."

"Soichiro, tell me!"

"Oi, oi, I told you I couldn't…"

Then Sougo turned away and left.

"KAGURA! WHAT DO THOSE TAX ROBBERS WANT WITH YOU?" Gintoki shouted when the sadist had left.

"IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, GIN-CHAN!" She yelled back, finishing her sixth and final bowl of rice. "I'm going to bed. GOODNIGHT!"

"Goodnight, Kagura-chan," the two males replied. Then, Shinpachi turned to the Yorozuya boss.

"What do you think the Shinsengumi want with Kagura-chan?" He asked.

"I don't really think it's the Shinsengumi that want something with her," his boss replied.

"What do you mean? You think she's just hanging out with Okita-san?"

Gintoki nodded.

"Gin-san… do you think it's… love?"

"I don't know, Shinpachi, but I most certainly do not want our Kagura-chan falling for a man like that."

* * *

_Hiya, thanks for reading.  
Also, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It's very helpful when people review!  
Aeneid, I might check it out! :) It can't be Kamui, Yamazaki said he had black hair and green eyes. BUT DON'T WORRY, EVERYONE, I'VE GOT A PLAN FOR KAMUI TO COME INTO THE STORY, IT'S OKAY! :P (But, aikoojamajo, I don't think it'll be a love triangle 'cause I don't like the whole KaguraxKamui thing. Incest-y e.e Sorry.)  
This chapter took longer than the others- Sorry! It's longer though! :D  
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!  
I will update as soon as possible.  
I don't own Gintama or the characters. :P  
_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

"GIN-SAN, KAGURA-CHAN, WAKE UP!" shouted the glasses wearing samurai, already picking up a broom and cleaning up.

"Eh, Patsuan, it's too early," called back a silver haired samurai from his bed.

"Gin-san, it's already 10 o'clock! It's time to get up," Shinpachi replied. "Kagura-chan, you need to get up!" He knocked on her cupboard-room. "Kagura-chan?"

"Go away, Megane, I'm tired!" responded the young Yato.

"Kagura-chan, you need to go to see the Shinsengumi, Okita-san said that they wanted you to be there this morning."

"Oh right… They need to discuss…" She immediately stopped speaking when she remembered that she wasn't supposed to tell Shinpachi or Gin-chan about her job. "Never mind."

"Huh? Kagura-chan? What do the Shinsengumi want with you?"

"Ah, Kagura, I want to know as well," Gintoki said, tiredly as he walked out of his bedroom, already clad in his usual attire. "A good father, like me, dislikes letting their daughters go to hang out with young men like those filthy tax robbers."

"You? A good father? Gin-chan, you don't even give me any money," Kagura said, snorting with laughter. However, she permitted herself a small smile; she really did love her family here at the Yorozuya. Of couse, she did love her real Papi, that useless baldie, too. Kagura slid open her door and looked at the other two. "I'm up!"

"Good," Shinpachi said, smiling.

"I better get ready to go," the red-head said, yawning. She stared at her clothes, trying to decide what to wear. Normally, she would just throw on whatever was in reach but today she felt the urge to dress up. What was wrong with her? She didn't understand this sudden impulse to look nice. All she was doing today was visiting the tax robbers, so why did she want to dress any different from usual. Who was she doing it for? She felt sudden confusion and then she realised that deep down she wanted to impress the sadist. She blushed, what was happening to her? The sadist was clearly playing one of his mind tricks on her. She glanced down at her clothes again and decided it was probably best to wear her usual attire for today. Something among her clothing caught her eye, the outfit she wore during her fight against Abuto. A small smile emerged on her face, she knew what she was going to wear to fight the black-haired Yato that the Shinsengumi were telling her about. The strange thoughts reappeared, would the sadist like that outfit? She shook the thought out of her head. She had never had thoughts like this before and she did not like them. With a quiet sigh, she got changed into her normal apparel and then re-entered the room Gintoki and Shinpachi were in. "I'm going to go now," she said, picking up her umbrella.

"What about breakfast?" Shinpachi asked, surprised that the girl, who usually ate a ridiculous amount, was leaving without eating breakfast.

"I'll get the sadist to buy me something," she replied, stomach rumbling loudly. "Ah, sadist will have to buy a lot of food." She grinned as she fantasised about spending all of her rival's money on food. All of the Shinsengumi members seemed to be rich so she felt a wave of joy course through her veins as she imagined how much food she could buy with that red-eyed bastard's money. She ended up skipping to the Shinsengumi Headquarters in glee.

"Gin-san, she said Okita-san was going to buy her food..." Shinpachi whispered to his boss after Kagura had left.

"I know," Gintoki replied.

"So, they're going on a d-d… a date?"

"Yes."

"Gin-san, are you okay?"

"My daughter's going on a date with a sadistic bastard…"

"Do you think we should follow them?"

"Yes, we can't leave our Kagura to the hands of those filthy tax robbers!"

"Okay, let's find Kagura-chan!" Shinpachi yelled in agreement and then muttered in an undertone, "but Gin-chan, they aren't the filthy ones, I've seen your dirty magazines…"

"Sadaharu," Gintoki called, "come help us find Kagura!"

* * *

"TAX ROBBERS, YOUR QUEEN IS HERE!" Kagura shouted in a singsong voice as she pushed past the guards who were guarding the Shinsengumi base.

"Uh, little girl, you're not supposed to go-," one of them began but was cut off by a strong fist slamming into his face.

"I've got an appointment," she responded, looking down at the man, whose nose was now broken and bleeding. She turned and ran into the headquarters. "SADIST, GORILLA, MAYORA!"

"Now, now, China, stop disrupting the peace here… or I'll have to arrest you," Sougo Okita called, aiming his Shinsengumi bazooka at her. He noticed a black-haired man smoking behind the girl. "Ah, Hijikata-san, look out," he mumbled as he pulled the trigger. He smirked; he was going to kill two birds with one stone. The red-haired girl back flipped out of way and the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi sidestepped to avoid the incoming rocket. Sougo frowned as he saw that he had missed both of his targets.

"SOUGO!" Hijikata yelled, however he did not attack the sandy-haired man, he simply took out another cigarette and lit it. Kagura, on the other hand, was infuriated by her rival.

"SADIST, I WILL KILL YOU!" the Yato screamed as she ran at the police officer.

"You want to kill me, China? Really? I thought a beautiful friendship was blossoming between the two of us. That's too bad…" Sougo retorted sarcastically.

"Tch, I hate you, bastard. We will never be friends. Although, I can understand why you'd want us to," she said, arrogantly, aiming punches and kicks at him. He used jumps, ducks and his sword to block her movements in order to avoid being injured by the violent girl's attacks. He unsheathed his sword with a great speed that matched the Yato's. He sliced at her; each strike was unfortunately dodged or blocked by her umbrella.

"I didn't think you were that stupid but apparently you can't even grasp the concept of sarcasm," he responded. One of her kicks landed, hitting his leg. His eyes widened, that damn brat had better not have broken his leg. He glared at her as he attempted to strike her with his sword. He did manage to cut her arm. They both stopped fighting as they watched the red fabric of her sleeve and the blood from her arm dance in the air. Kagura frowned at her wound, however, her mouth quickly changed into a grin as she saw that it was already beginning to heal, but nevertheless, the sadist had managed to give her a deep cut so she realised she would be uncomfortable and pained for the rest of their fight. Despite her wound, Kagura clasped her umbrella more tightly in her hand in anger. Wound or no wound, she could definitely kick that sadist's butt because she was Kagura, Queen of Kabukicho. Sougo was staring at her smugly. "Still want to fight, China?"

"As if I'd stop fighting because of a puny wound from a weakling like you."

"Want another 'puny wound', you brat?"

"Want me to break your leg, bastard?"

"I don't think a little brat like you would be able to."

"Do you want to bet on that? I could break your leg easily!"

"Prove it."

"Nobody will prove anything," came the voice of someone else. The vermillion-haired girl and the brunet turned to look at whoever interrupted their fight.

"Oh, Kondo-san… When did you get here?" Sougo asked, annoyed that his fight had been interrupted but because he was respectful of Kondo, he sheathed his sword, still slightly disgruntled.

"I headed straight over when Hijikata told me the two of you were fighting... again," Kondo replied, giving the two of them a disappointed look, "at least try to get along."

"Mayora," Kagura mumbled glaring at the smoking policeman.

"I'm glad Toushi told me. We don't need the two of you killing each other," Kondo said, smiling at them.

"He wouldn't be able to kill me!" Kagura yelled and at the same time, Sougo said, "she wouldn't be able to kill me."

The two of them looked at one another, surprised that they had said almost the exact same thing at the same time but soon Kagura's facial expression became a scowl. "You stole my words, you bastard! And I could kill you easily!"

"Hah, why would I want to steal the words of a vulgar brat?" Sougo replied, frowning at his rival.

"Ohohoho, but you did, Sadist," Kagura said laughing. "And if anyone's a vulgar brat, it's you."

"Ah, do you even know what 'vulgar' means? Impolite, rude, ill-mannered. I am in no means 'vulgar' in comparison to you. Although, it is not a surprise that you're so vulgar, seeing as you live so poorly with your beloved, unrefined 'Gin-chan'."

"Don't talk about Gin-chan like that! He is a much better swordsman and person than you!"

"China, let me tell you something. Danna is a bum, a regular MADAO," Sougo said, angrily. Truth be told, he was upset that Kagura regarded that idiot so highly. He didn't understand why, but he felt a strong dislike for the silver-haired samurai when the young girl spoke so proudly about him. He disliked her love of him.

"Leave Gin-chan out of this!"

"Dammit, China. Shut up about your stupid 'Gin-chan'. Ever since I've met you, it's been 'Gin-chan' this and 'Gin-chan' that. I've had enough."

"You're the one who mentioned him! I hate you, idiot!"

"I just…" Sougo froze, unsure what to reply. She was right, he had brought Gintoki into the conversation. "Ugh, shut up, China."

"Ohoho, I'm right and you can't think of a comeback because of my rightness! Ohohoho, sadist is jealous of my rightness!"

"What's it like to be right for the first time in your life, dumbass?"

"SADIST!" she screamed, lifting up her umbrella again, preparing to attack.

"Don't start fighting again," Kondo said in his usual cheerful voice, clearly trying to lighten the mood, "and, please, calm down, Queen-sama."

"But, but, Gorilla, the mean sadist ruined my clothes," she said, looking up at her Anego's stalker with her wide, sapphire orbs, which glistened with tears. Kondo looked at her tore sleeve with a disappointed expression and turned to Sougo. Kagura smirked evilly at Sougo when Kondo looked away from her. The sadist's anger bubbled inside of him when he saw the young girl's smugness but he maintained a bored expression.

"She started attacking me," he deadpanned.

"Sougo, you will go shopping with Queen-sama and buy her new clothes," Kondo said causing Kagura to grin at her rival. Yes, free clothes, she thought.

"What? Kondo-san, you're joking, right? I'm not going shopping with that monstrous brat! She's not even upset about the sleeve, she's smiling at me!" Sougo argued, not wanting to waste any more of his money on his annoying rival.

"Sougo, please," Kondo replied, giving him a serious look.

"Fine, I'll take the monster shopping," Sougo muttered.

"Buy me some food as well, sadist!" Kagura said.

"As if I'd buy you food when you ask as impolitely as that," he replied, but when Kagura turned to Kondo, he muttered, "fine."

Kagura almost squealed in delight at the thought of making the sandy-haired policeman spend more money on her. Sougo nearly jumped in surprise as his arm was grabbed and he was dragged away from the Shinsengumi headquarters by the strong girl.

It was not a good day so far for Okita Sougo.

* * *

"Okay, Sadaharu, find Kagura for us," Gintoki ordered as he held up one of Kagura's worn cheongsams for the oversized dog to sniff. Sadaharu ignored the samurai's instructions and decided to bite on his head instead. "Ah, Shinpachi, I'm beginning to get a headache."

"G-Gin-san, there's blood pouring down your head…" Shinpachi replied.

"Ah, Patsuan, you are correct. Sadaharu, we need to save Kagura!" The lazy silver perm said. Sadaharu released the man's head and sniffed his owner's clothing to pick up her scent. Sadaharu barked and led the two men out of the door. "Come on, Pachi-boy! We need to save our Kagura-chan from Sofa the sadist!"

"Ah, Gin-san, I think it's 'Sougo'," Shinpachi said, following his boss out.

* * *

_Hiya, thanks for reading.  
Many thanks to all who reviewed the first four chapters and to everyone who reviews this one. It's very, very helpful.  
Sorry if the wait for this chapter was a bit long- I've been a tad busy.  
dentedileone & kurasuchi, you think I write in character? THANK GOODNESS! I get so worried that I'm writing extremely out of character. . Also, dentedileone, o__h god, don't get in trouble reading my fanfic, please! XD  
Thanks again, everyone!  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
I will update as soon as possible.  
I don't own Gintama or the characters. :P_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

"Yum," Kagura said gleefully, mouth full of ramen.

"You know, China, you're really putting me off my food," he muttered to the young girl as she spoke with her mouth full, showing him her chewed up food, which he, of course, paid for. As per usual, the young girl was finishing her third bowl of ramen whereas he was only halfway through his first. "Also, if you keep eating like that, you're going to get fat."

"Shut up, Sadist! This ramen is good… I still prefer rice though! Another bowl! I'm not full yet!"

The Policeman allowed himself a chuckle; it really did surprise him how much he was beginning to enjoy spending time with his rival. "You do realise that talking with your mouth full, telling me to shut up and demanding another bowl as impolitely as you just did is not the correct way to act around the kind-hearted man who just treated you to three bowls of ramen," he said in his usual deadpan voice but when Kagura looked up at him from her bowl, she noticed that he had a small smile on his face; it wasn't even his usual smirk.

"Kind-hearted? You? I don't think kind-hearted men pick fights with cute girls."

"I don't know any cute girls."

"Moreover, you're only buying me food because Kondo would get upset if you- WAIT. What did you just say, you bastard?"

"I don't know any cute girls."

"I heard, I just didn't understand. I'm a cute girl!"

"You're rude, obnoxious and irritating."

"Want me to kill you?"

"You wouldn't be able too, weakling," he said and then turned to the owner of the ramen stand, "hey, old man, can we get another bowl of ramen, please?"

"Wha- Sadist, what are you doing?" Kagura asked, astonished that Sougo would buy her another bowl after she demanded it as she previously had.

"You said that you wanted another bowl, right?" He replied. Kagura felt heat rush to her cheeks. Wait, what was happening to her? Was she blushing? How embarrassing! She most definitely couldn't let that sadist see.

"Uh… Yeah… Thanks, Sou- Sadist…" She mumbled, turning her head away. He felt her cheeks become redder as she almost called her rival by his real name. What was wrong with her? She really didn't understand these feelings.

* * *

"S-shinpachi! Did you see that?! Kagura is blushing! And Sofa-kun was smiling as well. It wasn't even a sadistic smile!" Said the worried samurai as he watched his daughter on, what he believed to be, her first date.

"Gin-san, keep it down, we can't let them notice us and I would have seen it if you hadn't forced me to stand here to stop Sadaharu running to Kagura-chan," replied a slightly disgruntled Shinpachi, holding on desperately to Sadaharu, who was currently only using less than half his strength to get to his master.

"Ah, Gintoki," came a familiar voice, "I was wondering if you had made up your mind as to whether or not you will join to Joui."

"Katsura-san?!" Shinpachi said, staring at the long haired samurai, who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Leave, Zura. Kagura's on a date," Gintoki muttered, not even looking at his old friend, who was staring at Gintoki with his ever-present serious face.

"Not 'Zura' but 'Katsura'," Katsura replied, "Leader's on a date?"

"Katsura-san, perhaps you should leave, if we do get caught by Kagura-chan and her date, then I think you'll be the worst off," Shinpachi said apologetically.

"Why? Who's Leader on a date with?"

"Sougo Okita of the Shinsengumi."

"I see… Leader is dating one of the Shinsengumi…" Katsura began saying what Shinpachi and Gintoki both presumed was going to be ridiculously stupid but he was interrupted by a certain silver-haired samurai.

"Shinpachi, Kagura just finished her fourth bowl of ramen… Soichiro paid the old man and they're leaving…"

"Shall we follow them?" Shinpachi asked.

"Not yet, if we start following immediately, they might notice us. Wait a bit, and then Sadaharu can follow Kagura's scent. Zura, while we're waiting, if you're going to hang around with us, put on a disguise… Unless you want to be caught by the Shinsengumi, that's fine with me… In fact, get caught, you're annoying."

"Not 'Zura' but 'Space Captain Katsura'," Katsura said, already wearing his space captain costume, "and, Gintoki, I will never be caught by the Shinsengumi."

"I swear that they've caught him several times before though," mumbled Shinpachi, pulling his straight man act, "and as if they're not going to know that it's Katsura because of that costume."

"Did you say something, Pachi-boy?" Gintoki asked.

"No, no, Gin-san... Shall we go find Kagura-chan?" He replied.

"Yes, come, Sadaharu!"

"Sadaharu-kun," Katsura said, as if he had just noticed the large dog. There was a slight pink tint on his face, "mind if I fluff your stomach?"

Sadaharu replied in a way that surprised neither Shinpachi nor Gintoki. He bit down on the patriot's head. As the blood trickled down Katsura's head, his serious expression resurfaced and he said, "I suppose, I will have to take that as a 'no'. Gintoki, you still haven't trained your pet very well."

"He's Kagura's pet, not mine," Gin replied to which Sadaharu responded by biting Gintoki's head instead.

"I don't think Sadaharu-kun liked it when you said that," Katsura commented, "this is why I treat Elizabeth with the respect a pet deserves. Isn't that right, Elizabeth?"

"Um, Katsura-san, Elizabeth is not here," Shinpachi informed.

"Oh… that's because… I left her with the rest of the Joui," Katsura replied.

"You have no idea where she is, do you?"

"Of course, I do. Oh, I have just realised the time, I'm going to have to leave. Gintoki, keep thinking about whether or not you are going to join the Jouishishi rebellion."

"No, Zura," Gin replied.

"Not 'Zura' but 'Space Captain Katsura'," Katsura replied as he walked away, still in disguise.

"Pachi-boy, Sadaharu, let's go!" The man with the natural perm said, signalling the two to follow him.

* * *

"I can't believe you had four bowls of ramen," Sougo commented drily, "you really waste my money, China."

"It should be a pleasure for you to get to spend your money on a beautiful girl," Kagura replied, walking beside her rival in the clothing shop, with a huge grin on her face. It wasn't that Sougo liked her or anything, but he had made a mental comment that she did look pretty cute when she was smiling at him. His feelings towards Kagura were really beginning to confuse him. Little did he know, she was confused about how she felt about him as well.

"A beautiful girl? Where?" Sougo mocked, pretending to search around.

"Hmph," she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Just hurry up and pick some clothes so we can leave. I've been spending too much time with you lately."

"Really? I didn't think we were spending enough time together," Kagura replied, looking up at him with heavy lidded eyes.

"W-what?"

"I was kidding, Sadist."

"Where'd you learn that trick?" He said, laughing.

"I saw it in one of Gin-chan's dirty magazines. It was in 'Ways Women Try to Make Men Fall for Them.' From your reaction, I think it works," she said, a nonchalant tone in her voice, as she picked up and looked at some clothes. Unbeknownst to Sougo, Kagura was using that casual tone of voice to hide her delight that she had made the sadist laugh. She wasn't sure why, but it made her feel good.

"As if I would fall for a flat-chest like you, I like women who have breasts. Why'd you use that on me? Do you want me to fall for you? Aw, the little China girl is in love with the gorgeous policeman. It's pretty understandable, I suppose."

"I don't want you to fall for me, you bastard. Don't act so big-headed." she hissed, putting down the dress she had been admiring to glare at him.

"You've called yourself both 'cute' and 'beautiful' today and I'm the big-headed one?" he hissed back.

"At least what I said was true," she mumbled smugly.

"You are most definitely the big-headed one."

"No, you are."

"Stop with the pathetic retorts and pick some clothes."

Kagura continued to look around the shop, muttering inaudible comments about the sadist causing people in the shop to give her weird looks. Sougo rolled his eyes as he saw her staring at a cheongsam, similar to the one he had torn. As he did so, his eye was caught by a Lolita dress in the corner. He went over to look at it. He imagined what Kagura would look like wearing it and decided she would look beautiful in it. Maybe China hit him on the head earlier when they were fighting because he had just thought that that brat would look 'beautiful'. What was wrong with him? Spending so much time with China was clearly driving him insane.

"Have you suddenly gained a new fetish, Sadist?" Kagura asked judgementally, looking over his shoulder as she had noticed him staring at the Lolita dresses but soon she too was staring at the Lolita dress. "It's pretty." Her voice, before sounding sceptical, now sounded in awe. She continued to look at the dress, wishing she could have one like that. Lousy Gin-san would never let her get it and how could she ask the sadist for a dress like that? She wondered why he was looking at it; maybe he wants to get it for his sister?

"Have you picked your clothes yet, China? I want to leave," he deadpanned, forcing himself to sound bored and wanting to leave the shop before he imagined China wearing other types of clothes. He noticed there was an underwear aisle nearby and with flushed cheeks he muttered, "Hurry up."

"Okay, okay, want to see what I'm buying?"

"You mean, what your kind, handsome friend Sougo is buying?"

"Ew, you're not my friend…"

"But you agree that I'm handsome and kind… Wow, China, maybe you just want to be more than friends…"

"I do not! You're not kind and you're most certainly not," she began, but staring at him, she did decide in her head that he was handsome. She mumbled the last word, "handsome."

"Whatever. Just show me what you're destroying my wallet for."

She held up two cheongsams, both in the usual red colour she wore. Sougo rolled his eyes, it was typical China clothing. Come to think of it, he was sure he had never seen her wearing anything that wasn't in the Chinese style. She was grinning at the clothes happily but looked up at him when he said, "I only ruined the one dress, why have you picked up two?"

"Sadist," she moaned disappointedly. He felt slightly turned on by the sound of her moaning his name, appealing to his sadistic side. Damn, why did he enjoy the sound of her moaning so much? To Kagura's delight, her moaning worked to her advantage.

"Fine, I'll buy you both. Danna probably never buys you anything anyway," he said, turning away from the girl and headed towards the shopkeeper, an irritated and flushed expression on his face as he tried to avoid imagining other ways he could make her moan his name. When Kagura had followed him over to the till and he began to pay, she heard him rant to himself about his poor wallet. She smirked; causing the sadist such displeasure was really enjoyable for her.

* * *

"Gin-san, what's happening?" Shinpachi asked, desperately holding Sadaharu back to stop him running to Kagura.

"They're just leaving the shop, he bought her clothes… I saw him blush," Gintoki said, shuddering. Seeing such a sadist blushing was really discomforting. He decided the brunet was probably thinking perverse things about the young Yato girl.

"Okita-san blushed? What? Why?"

"He looked over at some underwear and blushed. He's clearly thinking corrupt things about our Kagura-chan!"

"What?!" Shinpachi yelled like a worried mother. Unfortunately, his reaction to what his boss had said caused him to let go of Sadaharu, who immediately ran over to his beloved Kagura. The two men stared after Sadaharu and then began sweating.

"SADAHARU, how did you get here? Did Gin-chan let you out?! That useless samurai! Or was it that useless four eyes? Probably four eyes…" They heard Kagura shout.

"S-shinpachi, Sadaharu is leading Kagura and Soichiro over here…" Gintoki mumbled to the young man wearing glasses.

"G-g-gin-san, what should we do? They'll kill us if they find out we're spying on them," Shinpachi replied.

"Don't worry, all we have to do is find a t-t-time machine," Gin replied, climbing into a bin.

"And you're the one telling me not to worry? That's not a time machine, it's a bin, which is where you belong, you useless samurai!" Shinpachi yelled.

"Sadist, did you hear that? It sounded like Megane!" Shinpachi heard Kagura say and her voice, to Shinpachi's dismay, sounded a lot closer than before.

"We're going to die… We're going to die," Shinpachi muttered to himself.

"T-t-time machine," Gin replied.

"There is no time machine!" Shinpachi yelled.

"Shinpachi, Gin-chan, is that you?" Kagura said, looking into the alleyway the two males had been spying on her from.

"N-no, little girl, we don't know who those men are… We are just simple street thugs," Gintoki replied, putting on a fake voice.

"Street thugs, eh?" Sougo said, "then, I, as a Shinsengumi member, must arrest you."

"Did I say 'thugs'? I'm sorry, I meant to say 'actors'… We are actors, who are playing thugs in a play. I said 'street thugs' because I was so in character."

"Oi, oi, what are actors doing in an alleyway?"

"Just… practising our roles, getting more into character…"

"It's funny," Kagura said, "I swear I heard Gin-chan and Shinpachi earlier… Sadaharu, where are they?"

Sadaharu barked and then headed into the alley. A few minutes later, he returned, dragging Shinpachi out by biting on his sleeve. Sadaharu dropped the glasses-wearing boy and went back in to grab Gintoki.

"Ah, Kagura-chan, we can explain," Shinpachi began, looking at Gintoki, who was being dragged out, for help.

"We got a job as actors…" Gintoki said.

"I didn't know actors spied on people," Sougo retorted.

"Ah, you already noticed?"

"You're very loud."

"Gin-chan, why were you spying on me?" Kagura asked with a confused tone of voice.

"Shinpachi doesn't want you dating Soichiro!" Gintoki said, trying to push the blame onto Shinpachi.

"Gin-san! It was your idea to follow them!" Shinpachi yelled.

"Actually, my name's Sougo, not 'Soichiro', Danna," Okita deadpanned.

"Sadist and I are not dating!" Kagura screamed.

"You're not?" Gintoki asked, "Oh, sorry, we'll go home. Come, Shinpachi, Sadaharu."

Gintoki quickly walked away, followed by Shinpachi and Sadaharu. When the other two were out of earshot, Shinpachi whispered to Gintoki, "what? You're just going to believe their not dating like that?! Did you not see them today?"

"Oh, no, they're definitely dating but we're going to need better evidence to get Kagura to admit it," Gin replied and they headed home.

Kagura and Sougo watched the two leave and then Sougo looked at her and said, "Your precious Gin-chan didn't believe you. You must hint to him at home that you like me or something."

"He did believe me, didn't you hear him, idiot?! As if I'd like you," she replied, irritated by the policeman.

"You really don't understand people, do you, China? It's obvious he didn't believe you, he just didn't want to start an argument."

"You're wrong, Sadist, Gin-chan definitely believes me!"

"Whatever. Anyway, come on, we need to get back to the Shinsengumi. Kondo and that bastard, Hijikata, have probably planned our mission by now."

They walked together back to the Shinsengumi base.

* * *

_Hiya, thanks for reading.  
Many thanks to all who reviewed the first five chapters and to everyone who reviews this one. It's very, very helpful.  
I really wanted Katsura in this story somewhere because I love him... but I made him exit because I was struggling to keep him in character. XD Poor Katsura.  
Hachibukai, I don't think it's annoying that you want me to update quicker... I'm really flattered about! I had more freetime over the past few days so this is quite a quick update. Also, your picture is Fairy Tail *squeal* You like Fairy Tail and Gintama too! :D  
C.A.M.E.O.1 and only, I know Sadaharu has an opinion but I don't know how to make him express it... I've been trying to use his actions but it's not really working. DX  
Little101, the action should be starting soon. I don't have it planned out really... I'm not one for planning... I just write. Haha. It's probably annoying how I've left the action so late, it's just I wanted to build up their emotions etc. The action should start in either the chapter after next or the one after that, okay? :)  
Thanks again, everyone!  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
I will update as soon as possible.  
I don't own Gintama or the characters. :P_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Kagura and Okita walked into the Shinsengumi base to see Yamazaki heading out. The badminton lover and Shinsengumi spy was carrying a bag filled to the brim with anpan and milk, causing the red-haired Yato to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Ah, Yamazaki, heading to work?" Sougo asked.

"Yes, the commander and vice-chief want me to continue spying on the Yato, in case he doesn't follow his normal routine," Yamazaki replied.

"Where are Kondo-san and Hijikata-san?"

"The meeting room, waiting for you, Okita-san."

"Enjoy eating your anpan," Sougo said and Kagura noticed a sadistic smirk appear on his face. Yamazaki gave him a dark look at the word 'anpan', which Kagura thought was out of character for the young man. Yamazaki didn't reply and walked away to do his job.

"Why did he look so upset at what you said?" Kagura asked.

"He hates anpan," Sougo replied.

"Why did he have so much anpan then?"

"It's his act of sacrifice to the myriad of gods for a successful operation."

"What?"

"Why do you even care? Just stop asking questions, idiot," Sougo replied, flicking her on the forehead, "let's go see Kondo-san and Hijibaka-san."

"It's 'Hijikata'."

"I know, Bakagura." (*)

"STOP ADDING 'BAKA' INTO PEOPLE'S NAMES, YOU BAKA!"

"Oi, oi, China, there's no need to shout."

"Let's just find Mayora and the stupid Gorilla," Kagura muttered. Walking ahead of Sougo, she mumbled inaudible comments about him.

"Do you even know where to go?" He retorted, glaring at her as she walked away from him quickly.

* * *

"Sougo, Queen-sama, how was shopping?" Kondo asked as he saw the two rivals walk into the Shinsengumi planning room, the younger of the two carrying a bag.

"Very good, thanks, Gorilla!" Kagura said with a large grin on her face, clearly satisfied that she had got some new clothes and in addition to this, got to spend some of the sadist's money.

At the same time as Kagura said this, Sougo muttered, "it was awful."

Kagura quickly sent a hard punch into Sougo's side and he let out a groan and then sent a glare towards the strong girl. Ignoring Sougo as he whispered the word 'bitch' to her, Kagura looked at the two other men in the room. "So, have you planned the mission yet?" She asked, blue eyes shining in curiosity.

"Yes, we have," Kondo said, "Please sit down."

The two immediately complied, sitting down next to each other. When Kagura noticed that their knees were touching, she felt… electricity? Sparks? She started to blush because of her confusion. What was happening to her? On that soap opera she had been watching – mainly to laugh at the stupid characters – they said something about feeling sparks… Something to do with that word she never really understood 'love.' Shinpachi and Otae had tried to explain 'love' to her but she was confused because there were so many different types of it. There was the friendly love and the other one… Surely this was just friendly love…? Kagura could not love that bastard in the other way, could she? No, there was no way she would love that idiot either way. She quickly moved away from him a little so there was now a gap between their knees. Sougo gave the girl a weird look, what the hell was she doing? He never did understand his little China girl. Wait… his China girl? What was he saying? The China girl was not his.

"So, what's the plan?" Sougo deadpanned, looking at his boss.

"The enemy has a tendency to just do the same thing every day," Hijikata said, "he follows the same routes, stops at the same places, does the exact same thing. He picks his targets from the Kabukicho District."

Sougo noticed Kagura's horrified when her district was mentioned. It surprised him, her worry for the Kabukicho residents. With the way she acted around him, he could not imagine her being the caring type… although, when he thought about how she spoke about Gintoki, he realised that she did care a lot for her loved ones.

"He's attacking Kabukicho?" She asked. Even though she'd heard about the killings, she had not known that the attacks were happening in Kabukicho. "They're all in danger… Gin-chan, Shinpachi, Anego, the old granny..."

"Queen-sama?" Kondo asked softly, worried about the watery-eyed young girl. Sougo and Hijikata both stared at her too, they had never seen her cry before. Sougo felt his hands ball into fists, he didn't know why but he was furious with that Yato for making Kagura cry. Kagura looked up at her Anego's stalker and he continued speaking. "Nobody else is going to get hurt. We've sent Zaki to watch the killer and he is going to contact me when the target has been picked. You and Sougo will be transported immediately to fight him and kill him... We can't let him kill anyone else."

"Y-you want us to kill him?" she asked, her expression becoming even more upset. There was a look of horror in her eyes as she looked down at her hands. Confused by how upset the normally-violent girl was by the plans, Sougo grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room, leaving behind a bewildered pair of policemen.

"What just happened?" Hijikata asked the commander.

"I think our Sougo is in love," Kondo replied.

"Rivals in love, eh?" Hijikata commented, taking out a cigarette and smoking. "Well, that's a new one."

* * *

"SADIST, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Kagura screamed, being dragged by the police officer. "GET OFF, YOU BASTARD!"

He continued to drag her, ignoring her persistent screams, insults and questions. He pushed her into a room and she landed on a bed. She looked up at her rival with wide, fearful eyes, which were still a bit teary from before. "Sadist, what's going on? Where is this?" She asked.

"My room," he deadpanned.

"That means… I'm on your bed?!" She squealed, standing up quickly. "SADIST, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! ARE YOU TRYING TO RAPE ME? GO AWAY!"

"Why would I try to rape you? I could do so much better."

"Bastard! Why did you bring me in here then?!"

"Why are you so worked up over having to kill him? He's a murderer… We would lock him up but he's too strong, he could escape easily. He's a danger whether he's caught or not. He needs to be killed or more people will be killed. Do you want the killings to continue?"

"No…Of course I don't. It's just… I… It's none of your business!" She yelled, tears running down her face.

"China?" He asked.

"WHAT? I SAID IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" She screamed, staring angrily at Sougo. Then, after a moment of silence, she spoke quietly. "Let's just go back to the meeting room; I don't want to stay in your room anymore." She headed towards the door but was stopped and then pinned against the wall by the brunet. "S-sadist?"

"You don't want to go back to the meeting room. If you wanted to stay in there, you would have tried harder to get me off of you when I was pulling you here. I know you're strong enough, you're a Yato," he said in his normal bored tone. "On top of that, something is bothering you. I don't understand why a violent girl like you wouldn't want to kill that guy… I know if it was murdering a civilian, it would make sense for you to react like this but this guy is a murderer, China. You don't want anyone else in the Kabukicho area to be killed so you obviously want this guy to be gone, especially because he's putting your loved ones in danger… but why don't you want to kill him?"

"I… I said it's none of your business," she muttered, fighting against his grip. She realised that she really wasn't trying hard enough and she realised why. She wanted to tell him… She didn't understand why but she had recently felt closer to the sadist than normal, she felt able to talk to him. She wasn't just closer to him emotionally though, Kagura realised, looking at their positioning; his body was extremely close to hers, particularly his lips to hers. She felt her cheeks heating up again.

"Tell me," he retorted, staring into her eyes, trying to avoid paying attention to their closeness.

"I don't want to kill anyone… I don't want to be a murderer like the rest of the Yato. I don't want to give into my blood, I want to fight against it and be a normal girl… and I can't lose control again," she commented, no longer crying but staring up at her rival with a serious expression yet still tear-stained cheeks.

"Lose control again?" Sougo asked. To be frank, he was confused about what the girl was going on about. He had thought she loved fighting, that she was proud of her blood. On top of that, Sougo could never think of her as 'a normal girl'.

"Shinpachi and I fought against a Yato named Abuto once…" she said, shuddering a little at the memory. "I can't remember it all… I lost control..."

"You won?"

"Yes."

"Maybe you should lose control again," Sougo suggested, "it'll make you stronger, right?"

"I couldn't think properly when it happened. I couldn't control myself at all."

"You can't think properly anyway."

"This is why I didn't want to tell you, you asshole. I hope that if I do lose control, I kill you as well as him."

"Ouch, China. That really hurt my poor policeman heart."

"I hate you."

"I hate you more."

"Tch, asshole. I don't want to talk to you anymore," she muttered, pushing him off her. This time he let her go. "I'm taking my cheongsams home and getting ready for the job, I'll meet you in the meeting room."

Sougo sat down on his for a few minutes, thinking over the conversation and about Kagura. "Fighting against her blood, huh? That was really unexpected," he said aloud. He leaned back, arms behind his head. His rivals had even more to her than he thought. He knew that she had said before that she had been trying to suppress her Yato blood, but he had assumed that was because she was living in Edo now. He was surprised at how complex the girl really was. He had always thought she was an open book and he knew all about her, but thinking about it he didn't know anything about her at all. She was a closed book and it was as though he had only read the blurb and to his surprise, he was dying to read more.

* * *

About half an hour later, Sougo was walking back into the meeting room. As soon as he sat down, he was bombarded with questions from his boss.

"Sougo! Where's Queen-sama? And what were the two of you up to? I know she's old enough now, but I hope you didn't do that with her! Oh god, you did, didn't you? Did you use protection?"

"She's taking her new clothes home and I did not and would never have sex with her! She's a stupid brat," Sougo retorted.

"Why not?" Kondo asked.

"We've seen how you look at her, Sougo, and she definitely is a pretty girl," Hijikata said, smirking. He then added, "Maybe you should hurry up, before she ends up with someone else. It won't be difficult for her and she does live with a man already."

Something snapped in Sougo then, he felt an intense anger over a mixture of what Hijikata had just said. He felt jealousy at the other man's suggestions of Kagura being no longer available and the fact he called her pretty but he also felt resentment to the fact that the two of them were insinuating that he had feelings for her. He unsheathed his sword and held it to Hijikata's neck.

"What are you doing, you bastard?" Hijikata asked, his cigarette falling from his mouth.

"Sougo!" Kondo yelled.

"Stop it now, both of you. I don't like the brat, okay?" Sougo muttered, seething with anger.

"I would believe you, if it wasn't for the way you reacted just then," the mayo-loving samurai replied.

"Shut up or I will kill you."

"Sougo, don't do it," Kondo said, patting his arm softly.

"Why shouldn't I do it? This bastard ruins my life. He takes everything that's precious to me away!" Sougo yelled. 'And he even joked about the silver-perm taking her away too,' Sougo mentally added.

"Sougo, calm down, I was kidding," Hijikata said, hand on his own sword, ready to unsheathe it quickly if worst came to worst.

"I really hate you," Sougo replied.

"Maybe you should save that for our actual enemy," came a new voice to the conversation. The three men turned their heads towards the owner of the voice. They all stared at her and noticed she had gotten changed. She was now wearing a short red kimono which was tied together by a large yellow fabric, tied in a bow behind her. Her hair, normally tied on either side of her head and covered by ornaments, was now up in a loose bun with her fringe falling in parts on her pale forehead. Sougo dropped his sword in surprise over many things; the sudden interruption, the fact that the girl they had just been talking about was right there and how beautiful she looked. Not only beautiful, he thought, looking at the pale skin of her leg between her short kimono and her striped tights, but sexy too. She gripped her umbrella in one hand and some sukonbu in the other.

"Oh, Queen-sama, did you hear our conversation?" Kondo said.

"I heard Sadist yelling something about Mayora taking things away from him and then Mayora telling him to calm down and then Sadist said, "I really hate you." It was quite a sight to see, Sadist, what did Mayo-samurai say that got you so mad?" She said, grinning.

"Nothing," Sougo replied irritably.

"Ohohoho! Poor little Sou-chan is all upset!" Kagura said and then turned to Hijikata, "what did you say to him, Mayora? The mood you put him in is fun."

"Queen-sama? Can you please not wind Sougo up now? By all means, fight and hate each other after the mission, but I honestly can't have the two of you fighting during the mission or the enemy will have an even bigger advantage," Kondo said.

"Fine, fine. Just tell us when the Shinsengumi-Shinpachi has called. Meanwhile, I need to talk to Mayora," she said, an even bigger grin on her face this time.

"Eh?" Hijikata said in surprise as he lit his cigarette.

"Just quickly, Mayora," she said, pulling him outside.

"Why does she want to speak to him?" Sougo muttered bitterly.

"I don't know… Who's Shinsengumi-Shinpachi?" Kondo replied.

"Yamazaki," Sougo said, a frown was on his face.

"What's bothering you, Sougo?" Kondo asked. "If you're worried about Kagura talking to Toushi, I'm sure she's not interested in him."

"I don't care about her," Sougo retorted but then quickly added, "why are you sure about that? How do you know?"

"You see, I'm great with women," Kondo began.

"No, you just stalk them," Sougo said.

"I'm great with women," Kondo repeated, ignoring the sandy-haired boy's comment. "I can tell when they like a person and Kagura most definitely doesn't like Toushi in the way you're worried about."

"I'm not worried… and who does she like?" Sougo asked, forcing himself to sound uninterested.

"You're not interested."

"True…"

* * *

"What do you want?" Hijikata said, looking down at the girl who had just dragged him with her inhumane strength. He knew all along that Sougo and her were perfect for one another. Well, not perfect… more perfectly imperfect. Ever since Hijikata first met the redhead, she had always reminded him of Sougo; not only her anger, her strength and her rude, sadistic personality but also her sweet, kind-hearted moments, like when she was crying over the safety of her friends, that reminded him of how Sougo would be around Mitsuba.

"I want you to tell me about the sadist's sister," Kagura replied.

"Mitsuba?" He said, a sad look appearing on his face. "Why?"

"Because he got upset when I called him 'Sou-chan' and told me Mitsuba called him that… but I don't know why he got upset," she answered and the black-haired policeman noticed the concern on her face.

"Mitsuba passed away," Hijikata said simply, wanting to escape from the conversation as quickly as possible. "She and Sougo were orphaned from a young age so she took the role of the mother and brought him up. She's the only person he would ever treat with courtesy."

"They were close then, huh?" she said softly. "That's all I wanted to ask. Let's go back now."

As they walked back in, Kagura wished that she and Kamui were as close as Sougo and Mitsuba were.

* * *

Kagura sat down next to the already sitting Sougo and began eating her sukonbu.

"Do you ever stop eating?" Sougo asked drily.

"Do you ever stop being an idiot?" she replied.

"Oh, good comeback," he commented sarcastically.

"Better than anything you could think of."

"Can you just stop arguing?" Kondo asked, frowning at them. "Zaki should be calling soon. Are you both ready?"

"I'm ready," Sougo said and Kagura nodded, both sporting a determined expression.

"Great, now we just have to wait for Yamazaki to call," Hijikata said and as if on cue, Kondo's walkie-talkie began to make a noise.

"Commander!" came a voice from it.

"Ah, Zaki! You've found him then! Where is he?" Kondo asked.

"The anpan is in the anpan," Yamazaki answered, his voice monotone. "Anpan's got an anpan anpan!"

"What? Anpan…?" Kagura whispered to Sougo.

"Don't worry, the commander will understand," Sougo deadpanned.

"Okay, Zaki! I'll send them there," Kondo replied and turned to the two sitting rivals. "Go to the park."

"The park? He doesn't usually go there," Hijikata said surprised.

"He doesn't? Why do you think he's gone there?" Kagura asked.

"I don't know why he changed his route today, but he's holding a child hostage," Kondo said urgently, "you need to go now."

Kagura and Sougo nodded and both ran quickly out of the Shinsengumi headquarters.

Time to fight.

* * *

_Hiya, thanks for reading.  
Many thanks to all who reviewed the first six chapters and to everyone who reviews this one. It's very, very helpful._

_(*) 'Baka' is Japanese for idiot and I was adding it into their names. I don't know Japanese so I'm not sure if it would actually work in Kanji or whatever but you all get what I mean, right? So it's okay? :S xD_

_This whole chapter is kind of messy and tedious. I don't really like it and I felt like everyone was really OOC and awkward... but review and tell me what you think.  
KYAHAHA, THE ACTION BEGINS NEXT CHAPTER!_

_pricis, another Gintama + Fairy Tail fan! :D Yay!  
C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, everyone's stupid in Gintama xD except maybe Elizabeth! xD  
Hachibukai, pervert Sougo is the best! I loooveeee Fairy tail! It's awesome :3 This chapter took a long looong time and your review made me fear my life! xD Haha, hope this update wasn't too long... I don't think it was as I'm still alive.  
ElleinadOtaku0w0, he's so riiichhhh. All rich, sandy-haired policemen have Loli fetishes! Hahah, with their personalities, they kinda have to be tsundere!_

_Thanks again, everyone!  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
I will update as soon as possible.  
I don't own Gintama or the characters. :P  
_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

"Okita-san, Kagura-san!" called a voice to the pair who were running through the park gate. Both, upon hearing this, stopped abruptly. Kagura turned to see Yamazaki hiding in a tree. She nudged Sougo as hard as she could to get his attention.

"Ow, China," he said, turning around, "Ah, Yamazaki…"

"Anpan…" he responded.

"Where is he?" Okita asked impatiently.

"Anpan," Yamazaki muttered, causing himself to receive a hard punch in the arm by Kagura, who had climbed up the tree. He apologised, grimacing in pain and reaching up to a plastic bag hanging on a nearby branch. He took out some anpan and said, "he's over there." He then gestured to a bench in the park. On the bench sat a man, who was pointing a large black umbrella at a small boy. Neither Kagura nor Sougo could clearly see what the man looked like because of the distance, however they could both see his dark curly hair.

"Ready to go?" Sougo asked, looking up at Kagura, who was eating some of Yamazaki's anpan. "Stop eating, idiot. We're on a serious mission."

"Mhm, I'm ready," she replied, ignoring half of what he had just said. She jumped down from the tree and they both headed towards the man.

As the got closer to the Yato, his appearance became clearer. He had the pale, translucent skin tone that was expected of a Yato, and bright green eyes. Kagura noted that he was quite attractive, and a similar age to Sougo, but not as attractive as her rival. She bit her lip, that guy was really messing with her head.

The dark-haired Yato looked up at the two rivals and spoke in a low, yet oddly friendly, voice, "so, Kagura-chan, he was right; you're the Yato who the famous Shinsengumi have sent forward… and you even brought a pet." As he spoke the last six words, his startling eyes turned to Sougo. The so-called 'Pet' frowned, about to retort that if one of them was a pet, it would be Kagura, but he was interrupted by Kagura herself.

"Who are you? And who is 'he'?" Kagura muttered.

"I am Katashi," the man answered.

"How do you know who I am? And you didn't answer my other question, idiot, who is 'he'?!" Kagura asked, becoming agitated by the man.

"He told me."

"LISTEN, PUNK, TELL ME WHO 'HE' IS?!"

"He didn't want me to tell you."

"Oi oi, China, we didn't come here to chat to this bastard. We came here to kill him," Sougo said, interrupting before the girl did something stupid. Sougo noticed her tense at the word kill, and unfortunately the Yato man noticed it to.

"Ah, I see, a Yato that's afraid to kill. He was right again; you're pathetic and weak, Kagura-chan," the man said in a sing-song voice, "yet still extremely beautiful." Sougo frowned at this, what was with this bastard? He was insulting Kagura then complimenting her. Kagura lifted her umbrella and pointed it at him; a fierce look was in her eyes.

"Let the boy go," she said, her gaze flickering to the young boy whom was cowering away from the man next to him, too afraid to even run away.

"Okay!" the man said again in his musical voice, lowering his umbrella from the boy. "Off you go, kid."

Kagura froze in surprise as the boy looked up at the dark-haired man beside him, eyes shining with tears. The man gave him an encouraging smile and the boy quickly got up and ran away. Sougo understood the situation much more quickly than Kagura did. "So you kidnapped the boy to lure us out? Is that why you started killing in Kabukicho too? You challenged us by murdering people," he deadpanned, staring at the Yato with his normal serious expression.

"Not to lure you out, you meaningless pet. I needed to lure Kagura-chan out," the man said cheerfully, "_He_ wouldn't tell me where she lived, except that she was residing in the Kabukicho district… Looking for her would've been boring, killing to attract Kagura-chan was much more exciting."

"You murdered to get my attention, you bastard!" Kagura yelled, furious. All those people had been killed just so she could be found.

"Ah, fantastic. I love it when my prey has fight in them. Kagura-chan, humans are weaklings… I cannot fathom an understanding to why you brought one of them with you," the man sang.

"China here is the weak one, I could defeat her with my eyes closed," Sougo commented.

"Shut up, you idiot. We're a team at the moment," she muttered, and then gave him a look as if to say 'once we've got rid of this guy, I'm going to kill you.' He smirked at her.

"So you're so weak that this measly human could beat you, Kagura-chan?" the strangely cheerful man said, cocking his head to the side. "I'm not going to lie, I'm really disappointed. He told me there was a Yato here in Kabukicho, but if this is how pitiful the Yato is, he won't be impressed when I destroy you."

"The sadist can't beat me!" Kagura shouted, "and stop looking so happy with everything you say, you idiot!"

"China, I could definitely beat you," Sougo uttered in his monotone voice.

"Shut up, bastard! I'd beat you easily!" She retorted.

"No way, China, you're not strong enough to beat me."

"Yes, I am! I am Kagura, queen of the Kabukicho district!"

"Since when are you a queen?! You're more like a beggar."

"Ahem," Katashi cleared his throat, attempting to get their attention.

"You might want to get cough medicine or something if your throat hurts," Kagura said pointedly and then turned back to Sougo. "What do you mean I'm more like a beggar?! I'm definitely a beautiful princess or queen!"

"As if anyone would ever thing you were beautiful," Sougo lied nonchalantly. "It's unfortunate that you have neither strength nor beauty…"

Kagura grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close. "You wanna go, punk?" she said in gangster-like manner. The Yato, who was watching the two of them tiredly, cleared his throat again. Kagura looked at Katashi and then released Sougo. "There's a pharmacy just down the road, Katashi."

Katashi began laughing and the two rivals were both facing him now. "What's so funny, Bakashi?" Sougo deadpanned. The Yato stopped laughing and looked at them both, an expression of amusement still gracing his soft face.

"You two," he began, trying not to laugh, "you two fight and argue while the one you are supposed to be fighting is sitting here." He paused for a while. "You're petty and weak, Kagura-chan," he said looking at her, a smile on his face, "beautiful, I'll admit once again… but you're weak." An expression of disgust appeared on his face as his eyes sharply turned to Sougo. "It's because you've been hanging out with this scum the whole time. It's a pity, spilling the blood of our kind when we are slowly dying out. However yours is spoiled blood and it is my mission to dispose of you. Perhaps, if you weren't so weak, I could make you mine… but I can't marry scum… and killing is more fun anyway, right?"

"You bastard… You shouldn't just go around taking innocent lives! I will kill you! I'll kill you to protect Gin-chan… and Megane… and the old lady... and anego… and Tama… I must protect them!" Kagura screamed in fury, though it was still obvious she didn't want to kill. Sougo frowned at the lack of his name; did she hate him that much? He didn't need weaklings like her protecting him; no, he'd be the one protecting her.

"My, my," Katashi sang, "you still don't want to kill? Even after everything I've done? Well then, I'll easily beat you and kill you. Then I'll kill your little pet too!" He was about to say more, however he was stopped when an umbrella swung round and hit his head. "Hehe, Kagura-chan, I see you're ready to fight then," he said, pulling the umbrella down.

Kagura glared angrily at the Yato, a fire in her eyes. "Bring it on," she said hardheartedly.

This was the first time Sougo had seen the girl look so serious then sudden realisation hit him. He froze for a little bit to think. She had attacked when the Yato had mentioned killing him… Did she care about him, her rival who had always gone out of his way to upset her? He quickly shook the thought out of his head and unsheathed his sword; it was time for them to complete their mission.

"Oh, pet-chan, don't get involved, I have no interest in fighting you," Katashi said, swiftly hitting Sougo with his umbrella. Sougo, taken by surprise, was too slow to block the attack and was knocked back.

"SADIST," Kagura yelled as he landed, "are you okay, Sadist?"

"I'm fine, you idiot. How weak to you think I am?" he retorted, getting back up. Truthfully, from that hit, he could tell that the enemy was stronger than Kagura and he were with their strength put together. "Fuck," he muttered too quietly for the two Yatos to hear. He looked up, leaning on his sword, and saw that Kagura and Katashi were fighting at a great speed. It was obvious she was losing, almost of her hits were blocked or dodged, and Katashi hadn't missed a single hit. Her bruises already healing, Kagura desperately put all her strength into one kick. Sougo watched as the hit landed and saw that Katashi was nearly completely unaffected. All she could cause was a slight wince in pain.

"Ah, Kagura-chan," Katashi sang, smiling down at the girl, "I was told about how you fight. Mhm… I was told you always slow down before impact… You don't want to fight. You aren't following your instincts; you're suppressing your Yato abilities. Basically, you're too weak to beat me, right?"

Kagura, blocking out the other Yato's words, threw more kicks and punches at him, occasionally swinging her purple parasol in an attempt to hit him with that. Katashi laughed as he blocked each hit. On one hit in particular, he grabbed her fist and swung her round. Releasing her, he grinned as she flew and slammed into Sougo, whom had been watching the fight in a daze. "Ow," the two said in unison.

"China, you're getting destroyed, idiot," Sougo commented drily.

"You're not helping much, Sadist," she retorted in a sour manner, however once she had risen she held out a hand to her rival, whom grabbed it and was pulled up. "We need to fight together... He's strong."

"I know that, stupid."

"Well then help me!"

Sougo looked into her serious eyes and then smirked. "Tch, to think, China is asking me, someone she hates, for help."

"I don't hate you," she muttered quietly. "Look, Sadist, we need to win this. He could kill them all, everyone we know. We have to work together or… everyone I… we love… will be gone… And we'll both be gone as well."

"I already know that, stupid."

"And I repeat, help me, idiot. Don't just watch the fight, you know that neither of us can beat him alone... and I don't want to lose it."

Kagura shuddered slightly at the memory of when she lost it, when the beast got free. No, she wouldn't let that happen. Sougo immediately assumed by 'it' she was referring to the fight. He looked down at there still entwined hands and then quickly released hers and turned to Katashi.

"Ready to lose, Bakashi?" He deadpanned.

"It's 'Katashi' actually… Not that it matters what you think my name is, you'll both be dead within minutes," Katashi responded happily. Giving no time for a retort from either of the others, Katashi leapt forward and knocked them both away with his umbrella. They landed badly on opposite sides of Katashi, yet immediately got back up and ran at him. Sougo, sword glinting was ready to strike the Yato's left and Kagura, umbrella lifted clutched in one hand, prepared to strike the Yato's right. Both reached Katashi at the same time, landing their hits in unison. Katashi smiled, graciously taking the hits. "Still too weak, Kagura-chan," Katashi laughed, palm striking her chest, knocking her away. "I'll kill your pet first, okay?"

Katashi turned to Sougo, whom stared emotionlessly back at him. Katashi raised a fist and punched Sougo hard in the stomach, grinning mercilessly as he did so. Kagura watched wide eyed as Sougo coughed up a little blood yet, as obvious as it was that he was in complete anguish, continued to fight, swinging his sword at the incredibly strong man. Kagura's eyes widened even more and even began to well up. She couldn't believe it… The sadist was… losing?

"You love that sword, right? I've heard the samurai form a special bond with their sword," Katashi said, as he stomped his foot down on Sougo's sword hand, causing Sougo to scream out in agony as he let go of his sword. Tears ran down Kagura's face as she saw Katashi bend down and pick up Sougo's sword. Realisation hit her harder than all the hits she had previously received from Katashi… The sadist had no hope of winning there… he was going to die. She was going to lose her precious rival. The rival, who didn't know it yet - Kagura didn't even know it herself - , that was as important to Kagura as her beloved Gin-chan was. The thought was truly unbearable. Kagura was swiftly knocked out of her thoughts when she heard Katashi's suddenly sadistic voice. "My, my, Pet-chan, I wonder what it's like for you samurai to be slaughtered by your very own sword. Tell me, is there any honour in that kind of death? Oh, Kagura-chan! Say goodbye to your pet."

The sword was lifted higher.

The two rivals knew this was it.

The king of the sadists was about to die, and his China girl would be after.

"He's not my pet," Kagura whispered.

"Whatever, Kagura-chan!" Katashi sneered, "It doesn't matter what he is to you anymore. He's dead."

_Dead._

Sougo closed his eye. It was time for the finishing blow.

Kagura's eyes were as wide as they could possibly be. It was time for the finishing blow.

The king of the sadists was about to die, and his China girl lost control.

* * *

_Hiya, thanks for reading.  
Many thanks to all who reviewed the first seven chapters and to everyone who reviews this one. It's very, very helpful._

_Wow, I am so sorry for the long wait. Haha, I just really haven't had time. Sorry about any plot holes too, I've written it over a long period of time so there could be major times because I didn't read over it first because I just really hate rereading my work..._

_C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, it makes sense because it's Gintama, okay?  
Blueberry761, __I'm kind of scared because I took a long time to update this... Don't hunt me down... or else... or else... NO MORE OKIKAGU FOR YOU.  
Hachibukai, your silly ramblings were frighteningly accurate. Are you reading my mind? Oh gosh, I'm so glad you waited patiently. *Fears for life in between updates.* I'm so sorry for the long wait, thank you for not murdering me.  
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE ELSE WHO REVIEWED. I LOVE YOU ALL!_

___Thanks again, everyone!  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
I will update as soon as possible.  
I don't own Gintama or the characters. :P_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Sougo's eyes were closed. He was prepared to die.

"My, my, Pet-chan, I wonder what it's like for you samurai to be slaughtered by your very own sword. Tell me, is there any honour in that kind of death? Oh, Kagura-chan! Say goodbye to your pet," Katashi had said in a strange sadistic tone that had not been heard previously.

"He's not my pet," Sougo's rival… no, Sougo's China girl had replied.

"Whatever, Kagura-chan! It doesn't matter what he is to you anymore. He's dead," had been Katashi sneered response. He was right. It no longer mattered what he was to her, he was about to die, and then she would be killed too. It was over. The battle was lost. He wondered though, what was he to Kagura? What did she think of him? Did she realise that he- Wait, no. It couldn't end with him falling for that repulsive beast. He smirked to himself, he had had the last laugh between him and the China girl. She probably wasn't insulting him internally. Not that anything mattered anymore, for pretty soon he would be gone. Non-existent. Nothing. Would anyone even care?

And then his life flashed before his eyes.

He saw everything… He saw his parents, their passing, Mitsuba and her raising him… and her illness, training with Kondo-san, that idiot Hijikata – Man, he hoped China would win the fight so she could kill Hijikata for him when he was gone – joining their dojo, leaving for Edo… He saw the Shinsengumi, meeting those idiots at the Yorozuya, trying to capture Katsura time and time again… He remembered the time when he and China were at the festival, winning all of the MADAO's possessions, and then fighting alongside her against those robots… And the time when he, Hijikata, Kondo-san, the stupid silver-perm, the four-eyes and China went to the Yagyu dojo to rescue Otae, and he and Kagura fought together again, although China showed how truly sadistic she was when wiping him out as well as their opponent. She was sadistic like him.

He was beginning to accept that, even though he was still young, he'd had a pretty full life and he was ready. The trouble with that thought is that the sword never came down so it didn't mean anything.

Sougo opened his eyes slowly and in front of him stood Kagura, standing tall. He looked up at her figure, facing away from him. As his eyes reached her shoulders, he noticed something, the sword had gone down. "C- China!" He yelled in shock as he realised that she had taken the blow for him. No response came from the girl, who he knew would be unable to move her right arm for a while. The sword had struck her right on the shoulder.

"Ah, Kagura-chan! It wasn't your turn! That was a bad move too… your arm was at least useful in this fight, Pet-chan isn't," Katashi sang.

Kagura didn't argue as she usually would, however she raised her left hand slowly, grabbed Sougo's sword by the blade and, slicing her hand as she did so, pulled it out Katashi's grip and threw it to one side. Sougo silently and swiftly moved in the direction it was thrown, and fumbled around for it as he stared at his rival. She looked different, as though she was absent, no not exactly absent, but she looked as though something had taken over her. Sougo noticed that her normally pretty eyes had become wide and the cerulean irises had shrunk and a wide grin had appeared on her face. It was like a monster had taken over his beautiful rival. Ignoring the fact that in his head he had just called that irritating brat 'beautiful', he wondered if this was what China meant when she mentioned losing control. He pondered what had caused the girl to lose it… was it because he had been about to die? Did she lose control to save him?

_Why would she do that to save him?_

"China?" he whispered in bewilderment, yet he was ignored by the two Yatos, who had begun to fight one another. This time it was clear that Kagura was winning, all her kicks and punches landed and with brute strength too. Kagura was obeying her blood. No, it was not Kagura but a monster. That was not the violent yet somewhat sweet girl Sougo knew. He stared at the two fighters. Although Kagura was not using her right arm and it hung by her side, she was using her bloodied left hand, which Sougo was sure should be causing her excruciating pain. The inhumane girl was fighting with such extreme injuries and was not even flinching when Katashi added to them. This was her true strength, one which could not be matched, not by Katashi… or by Sougo.

"Kagura-chan, this side of you is truly amazing – just like he had said. Fighting like this even after sustaining those injuries," Katashi said breathlessly. It was clear he was being worn out by the insane girl. "I'm afraid I have to beat you though." As he said this, he brought one leg up and slammed it down on Kagura's damaged shoulder, knocking her to the ground. Sougo leapt up as he heard the crack of Kagura's right shoulder, and, carrying his sword, ran at Katashi.

"CHINA!" He yelled as he sliced at the strong Yato male and sliced one of him arms nearly off, only to be knocked away as he went for the other one.

Kagura, upon hearing her rival's voice, resurfaced for a moment and saw that Katashi had turned on Sougo. She rose, the monster inside had taken over again. Her pain had vanished and was replaced by pure rage and bloodlust. Katashi, not expecting the girl, was kicked aside and let out a yelp. Sougo stared at her as she turned away from him and walked, swaying from side to side, towards their enemy. He rose, holding his side because he had landed badly on it, and silently took a quicker route so he could ambush the enemy Yato.

Katashi glared at her and spat out some blood. "My, oh, my, Kagura-chan. Even in that form, you're protecting your weak pet. Could it be love? Oh, how fun it will be to kill you both. Ah, just like Romeo and Juliet…" Sougo smirked slightly, that was the perfect opportunity for one of Shinpachi or Yamazaki's straight man lines. Knowing that neither of those two were here to deliver a line, he took the job upon himself.

"THAT'S NOT HOW ROMEO AND JULIET WENT, THEY KILLED THEMSELVES," Sougo said, jumping out at the enemy, fully hacking off the arm that he had attacked before, and then jumping away before Katashi could fight him back.

"Ah, Pet-chan, you're so silly! Coming to fight me was killing yourselves!" Katashi replied, giggling to himself.

"You've got a lot of guts for a guy who just lost his arm; do you want me to get rid of them as well?" Sougo deadpanned.

"Oh, naïve, little pet, you are not strong enough."

"Wow, nice arm," Sougo commented, a sadistic expression on his face and he stared at the bleeding shoulder of Katashi, which once had had an arm attached to it.

"Foolish pet!" Katashi sang, and kicked Sougo hard in the stomach, and then turned to Kagura who had been slowly approaching them with that maniacal grin on her face. He grinned back at her. "I won't lose this battle, Kagura-chan! Now we only have one arm each, fair right? Except you have that injured hand as well…"

They ran at each other, throwing kicks and punches. Katashi managed to push down on Kagura's unusable shoulder, freezing her for a moment, before she eventually swung her head forward and pushed him back. As he recovered, Kagura had grabbed his good arm and then she pulled it off. He stared down at his two shoulders in horror. Kagura then swung a leg around and pushed him to the ground. He cried out in pain, and Sougo, seeing that Kagura was about to crush the Yato male's neck, rose without thinking. He grabbed Kagura's good hand and whispered to her. "China, you don't want to do this. You said you don't want to kill. Stop, you know you'll regret it."

Kagura turned to him, with that maniacal, mad expression of hers. He hadn't reached her… She quickly, releasing herself from his grip, kicked him away and stared down at Katashi, who was grinning back at her. Infuriated by this, she rose her foot and was about to crush his windpipe when she was knocked away by something. The monster looked up at the annoyance which had taken her away from her prey. Sougo stared back, his usual deadpan expression. He pinned her down, knowing she could easily get him off.

"Listen to me, you idiot. You are not a killer, so stop. China, I… I can't let you do this. I can't let you do something you'll regret," Sougo said, and moved his head to the side to avoid the incoming head-butt that he had been expecting. "This is not the China I know. The China I know wouldn't do this. The China I know is sweet, and although she's violent, I know she's not a killer. She's really beautiful too, with lovely eyes… and she does pull some disturbing expressions and does disgusting things… but that's her character… and Danna's fault. Those things aside, she had a good heart. She wouldn't kill a man that can't get up. She wouldn't kill anyone at all." He touched her face with the hand he was using to pin down her damaged arm. "She did this to protect me, and everyone else, from that monster – but she wouldn't kill him. She'd show mercy – that's what Kagura's like."

"My, my, Sadist, you just called me 'Kagura'. What's wrong? Do you _like_ me or something?" A familiar voice said. Sougo stared down in shock at the redhead, who had an arrogant expression on her face.

"China…" He whispered, and she noted the wide eyed expression. Suppressing her laughter, she decided she would act as though nothing had just happened, that she had not lost it – most certainly not for that sadistic bastard anyway.

"Get off of me, Sadist, you're heavy!" She said, grinning evilly at him.

"Isn't that a little hypocritical coming from you, the gluttonous pig?" he deadpanned, but quickly got up. She was about to retort, but realised he had walked away towards Katashi, carrying his sword. She sighed and relaxed a little, realising how much pain she was in. She allowed herself to cry for a bit.

* * *

"You're showing me mercy? You're an idiot; you should've let Kagura-chan kill me. That's the problem with humans, you're merciful and weak. I'm a Yato, I may not be able to get up now, but once I'm healed I will kill you, and her. I'll kill everyone you love, Pet-chan," Katashi said, looking up at the sandy-haired man standing over him.

"You seem to have misread the situation, Bakashi. I couldn't let the China girl kill you – she's not a killer. You've got me completely wrong. For one thing, I'm not her pet," Sougo deadpanned, then smirked at the other man.

"What are you talking about, Pet-chan? What are you to her then?" Katashi asked, staring up at Sougo.

"I'm not her pet, I'm her sadist, and, like I said before, I'm going to spill your guts."

* * *

Kagura heard a bloodcurdling scream and soon Sougo returned. She glanced at him with a bored expression, "did you kill him, Sadist?"

"He couldn't commit seppuku because he didn't have any arms, so I decided to help him out," Sougo muttered, laying down next to her. He noticed her tears, did it hurt that much? He was glad he killed that bastard. "You okay, China?"

"I'm fine. This won't take long to heal. What about you?" She replied.

"I'm alright. Just a couple of bruises probably. Maybe a damaged rib."

"You should probably go to hospital, I heal fast so I'm okay."

"No, it's fine. I didn't get too injured."

"That's because I did most of the fighting. You just let yourself be thrown around."

"Do you remember the whole fight?" '_Shit, does she remember what I said?'_

"Yeah, you called me 'beautiful'. I knew you were in love with me." _'Does he really think that? I'll ask Anego what she thinks about all this.'_

"Who'd fall for you, pig?" _'I would… WHAT AM I THINKING?'_

"Thanks, Sadist."

"I just insulted you, why are you thanking me?"

"You saved me from myself."

"Oh. You're welcome, I guess."

"What do we do now, Sadist?"

"Go back to the Shinsengumi Headquarters," He said getting up. Once he was up, he offered her a hand, and she grabbed it with her working hand, wincing a bit because of the pain.

"But... but… I want to see Gin-chan!" She argued, feeling nervous about spending any more time with the sadist. He had called her beautiful, protected her several times and just helped her up. She felt their relationship had changed recently, and it wasn't that she disliked it, it was just that she wasn't used to this emotion he was making her feel.

"You can go home after we go back. Do you want your pay, brat?"

"Yes. I think I deserve extra too! Take me out to an all-you-can-eat buffet, Sadist!"

"Oh, China, I didn't realise you wanted to go on a date with me that badly."

"As if I would want to go on a date with you! I know – I'll get the Mayo samurai to take me!"

"NO."

"What?"

"No, Hijikata-san is busy…" _'That bastard is not taking China out for food.'_

"Well, we can just go when he isn't."

"He's busy indefinitely." _'He's dead.'_

"Fine, fine. I'm sure Jimmy-zaki will take me. If worse comes to worst, I'll get the gorilla to take me."

"I think they're busy too. I'm not that busy. I really don't want to but I could take you, I suppose."

"YES! Free meal!" _'Gin-chan will be proud'_

"You're just scamming me and spending all my money, aren't you? I hate you, China." _'Not really.'_

"The feeling's mutual, Sadist." _'Not really.'_

* * *

___Hiya, thanks for reading.  
Many thanks to all who reviewed the first eight chapters and to everyone who reviews this one. It's very, very helpful._

___Sorry for the long waits between the chapters! . I am ultra busy at the moment!_

___AnabellaGC, sorry about the cliffhangers! :o Cookie please? :3  
FeyrisNyanNyan, that is exactly how I feel! I reread stuff and I'm just like "oh god... why?"  
THANKS EVERYONE ELSE YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME LOADS OF HUGS FROM ME 3_

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
__I will update as soon as possible.  
__I don't own Gintama or the characters. :P_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

* * *

The park was splattered with blood, Katashi lay dead, his body mutilated and, soon, a young man, his red hair braided, came along, followed by his subordinate.

"Katashi-kun, you lost," the redhead said, looking down at the deceased, a smile on his face. "It seems you weren't strong enough to beat that weak_ imouto _of mine_._"

"Kamui, this means she has gotten stronger," the subordinate said.

"Maybe," Kamui replied, "but it seems like she had help again like the time when she defeated you, Abuto."

"Talking about that again, huh?" Abuto said, rubbing his head. "She's strong when she's protecting something. Help, huh? The glasses wearing boy from before? No, it doesn't smell like him. Was it the silver samurai that you want to fight?"

"No, no, I don't know who this is… it's similar to silver-samurai-san, but it's not him."

"Hm… To take out another Yato though, your sister must be getting stronger. Although, Katashi wasn't as strong as me."

"Yup, maybe it's time to pay my _dear imouto_ and silver-samurai san a visit."

Approaching footsteps could be heard.

Then distant voices came.

"Time to go," Kamui said, smiling, closed eyes. The two Yatos left.

"Who were they?" Yamazaki said glancing at the two receding figures from the tree, and then looked down. "Ah, the Shinsengumi clean-up squad are here."

* * *

The Shinsengumi headquarters was under attack. Who by, you wonder? Two very pissed off father figures.

"KAGURA-CHAN," Shinpachi yelled, fighting off two members of the Shinsengumi.

"KAGURA!" Gintoki shouted, attacking several of the policemen at once. "OI, TAX ROBBERS, WHERE'S MY DAUGHTER?!"

"Your daughter?" Gintoki heard a familiar voice ask. "Why do you think we have your _daughter_?"

"Oi, Mayora, I'm not here to joke around. Soichiro-san took Kagura somewhere and we want to see her," the silver perm said, turning to the demon vice commander, a dark look on his face.

"Uh, Gin-san," Shinpachi interjected, still fighting, "I think it's 'Okita Sougo'."

"Who cares what that bastard's name is? He's got our Kagura."

"Hey, little bro, Gintoki, come inside for a bit," Kondo said, walking out, a smile on his face, seeming blissfully unaware of the fight. "Sougo and Queen-sama are on their way back. They should be here in ten minutes or so."

The two intruders turned and walked inside, and as they passed the Shinsengumi's cheerful commander, they both muttered to him ominously.

"Oi, punk, if Kagura's even the slightest bit hurt, I will kill you all," Gintoki muttered.

"Who the hell are you calling 'little bro'?" Shinpachi muttered.

Kondo gulped as he and Hijikata followed them in. The two Yorozuya members sat down immediately, glaring at the Shinsengumi pair, whom sat across from them. "So, Kondo-san," Shinpachi said, "Where is Kagura-chan?"

The commander averted his eyes and cleared his throat. "On her way back with Sougo. She should be her soon."

"And why is she with Soichirou-kun?" Gintoki asked. No response from the two police men, one of which, the older of the two, was avoiding Gintoki and Shinpachi's glares, the other, the black haired one, stared back at the two, uninterested in the drama. Gin, then, raised his voice, pointing his _bokuto_ at Hijikata. "Answer the question, you stupid tax robber."

Beginning to get irritated at the two, particularly the silver haired one, who had previously intruded the Shinsengumi base, Hijikata spoke. "Oi, do you want to get arrested for threatening a police officer? She went on a job with Sougo."

"A job?" Shinpachi and Gintoki asked in unison, and then Gin lowered his bokuto and continued, "Kagura has gone on a job? She's going to get paid right? Yes, Kagura-chan! Good job! She can treat us to dinner tonight!"

Shinpachi, concerned because he expected the 'job' would have something to do with fighting, spoke up again. "Excuse me, Hijikata-san, but what was this job? Will Kagura-chan be hurt?"

"Who cares? She's bringing money home today! How much are you paying her?" Gin asked.

"¥100000," Kondo said.

"YES, GOOD JOB, KAGURA!"

"Uh, Gin-san. Shouldn't we be concerned about Kagura-chan? She might get injured on this job…"

"Oi, oi, Patsuan. This is our Kagura we're talking about."

"Y-yes, I suppose. Kondo-san, Hijikata-san, what exactly was the job you sent them on?"

_CRASH. _Suddenly, Sougo Okita, fell through the wall, into the room.

"Ah, I think she cracked another of my ribs," He said, groaning. Without noticing the four other men in the room, he yelled through the wall. "Oi, China, what are you doing?! You're going to damage your shoulder even more, idiot!"

"I do not care, you brat! I cannot believe you said that, uh-huh! I am not stupid, ask Gin-chan, yes?" A strained voice yelled back.

"I don't care what _danna_ thinks; he's as stupid as y-," Sougo began and then paused, finally aware of the four men, staring at him and his blood-covered uniform. "Kondo-san, nobody told me we had guests. Oi, China, the rest of your idiot trio are here."

"Gin-chan and Shinpachi are here, yes?" She said, running into the room, her maimed arm hanging motionless by her side. She looked down at said arm, which was causing her pain. "Ow, it is not healed yet, yes?"

"Kagura-chan!" Shinpachi yelled, gawking at the injured girl. "Kagura-chan, are you okay?"

"S-Shinpachi, who is that girl that looks like Kagura? You know, the blood-covered girl wearing the same outfit that Kagura wore in Yoshiwara…?" Gintoki muttered, nudging the glasses-wearing boy.

"Gin-san, that is Kagura-chan…"

"No, no. That has to be one of those doppelgängers… or a wart! I know… We just have to find a t-t-time machine and pretend we never saw it," he said, diving into a nearby vase and receiving a kick from the girl. "K-Kagura?!"

"What are you doing, Gin-chan?" She said, looking down at her boss.

"Kagura! How did you get so injured?" Gintoki asked, taking up the fatherly position again. He turned to Okita, angrily, "is it your fault, Soichirou-kun?"

"My fault? _Danna_, why would it be my fault that this idiot can't even protect herself?" Okita asked, smirking at Kagura.

"You have worse injuries, yes, Sadist? At least two broken ribs, uh-huh. You are the stupid brat who cannot protect himself, yes?" She retorted, smirking back.

"Who are you calling a brat? I'm older than you, brat."

"Shut up, dumb tax robber! Once my arm is healed, I will kill you, yes?" She muttered leaning against the wall, feeling completely exhausted.

"Not if I kill you first," he replied, leaning next to her, too pained to move or to continue arguing. He noted how Gintoki and Shinpachi both tensed up and looked darkly at him as he interacted and sat next to Kagura. He smiled menacingly at them. In a few minutes, the two were asleep; Kagura's head fell on Okita's shoulder and stayed there. The four men stared at them for a while, all wondering the same thing. _'What is their relationship now?'_

"Those two need medical help," Kondo commented after a while. "I'll go get a doctor. You three, get those two into the infirmary, okay? It'll be easier to keep you there rather than send you to the hospital."

"Eh? You want those two to sleep in the same room? They'll kill each other," Shinpachi said, although he was ignored.

Shinpachi lifted Kagura and between the two of them, Gintoki and Hijikata carried Okita to the infirmary. Soon a doctor would come, soon they would be able to find out what happened.

* * *

___Hiya, thanks for reading.  
Many thanks to all who reviewed the first nine chapters and to everyone who reviews this one. It's very, very helpful._

___Sorry for the long wait - I've had little time and a major writer's block! Also, this chapter is disappointing and short - so sorry. Woo, Kamui made an appearance! Yay, Kamui. This whole chapter felt tedious, but maybe the Kamui part will make you forgive me for the rest of the chapter hehe. I'm glad you liked how I wrote the bit where Kagura went mad... I was really worried...  
MY OKITA IS REALLY BAD AND I CANNOT KEEP HIM IN CHARACTER - but I think my Kagura's fine for now (especially because I've been roleplaying her on Tumblr [ ] if you want to see). Anyways, anyways, thanks so much for your reviews and for reading. You guys are amazing._

___If I don't update before Christmas, I wish you all a very, very merry Christmas! :D_

_____I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
__I will update as soon as possible.  
__I don't own Gintama or the characters. :P_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

Kagura awoke in an unusual place, although it gave her a strong sense of Déjà vu; she had been in there before, but she could not remember where it was and when she had been in it. She noticed another unusual thing. She had noticed that she was not alone in this room. The sadist was a few beds away, sleeping and bandaged up. It seemed his injuries were a lot worse than he had let on. Wincing in pain, she sat up in the bed someone had left her in. She too was bandaged up, although she was nearly healed. There were voices outside.

"Oi, Gorilla, let us go in. We want to see Kagura!" Came the familiar voice of her boss, Sakata Gintoki. She felt her mouth curve into a smile when she heard the concern in his voice.

"I'm sorry, but the doctors said she needs her rest," replied another voice. Kagura soon realised it was the voice of that Gorilla. A third voice joined the conversation.

"Kondo-san, how is Kagura-chan? We were sent home yesterday after we put her in the infirmary. You haven't told us about her condition or anything… Is she okay?" Asked an extremely concerned voice. _Shinpachi. _She now knew where she was too. The Shinsengumi infirmary, she had been in here before when they came to dispose of that creepy mosquito-amanto lady.

"She is doing well. The doctors said she was getting better at a rapid rate. Her shoulder is almost mended according to the doctor who checked up on her an hour ago. She just needs rest," Kondo replied.

"What about Okita-san?" Shinpachi asked in a voice which was unmistakably more relaxed. "How is he doing?"

There was a silence for a while.

She looked over at her rival, worriedly. Why wasn't Kondo saying anything? It felt like forever before Kondo spoke.

"The doctors said that although Kagura received injuries of a similar severity as Sougo, she is able to heal more quickly-," Kondo began, his voice slightly strained.

"Because she is a Yato," Gintoki said.

"Yes," Kondo continued, "Sougo is unable to heal at such a rapid rate. He has received many rib injuries and quite a large number of broken bones. It seems he was shouldering these injuries for the entirety of the walk back..."

"Not to mention me throwing him through that wall," Kagura added, overcome with guilt. She had never expected that the sadist would be so badly injured.

"We cannot be sure whether or not he will be able to recover; his injuries may have gotten infected. The doctors said that they could not do anything at the moment. We just have to let him rest for now."

Upon hearing this, Kagura climbed out of her bed and walked over to Okita. "Oi, you brat, what are you doing? How could you let yourself get so injured, huh?" She muttered, eyes welling up with tears.

"I'm probably still stronger than you though, idiot," replied the voice, his red eyes slightly open. "And who are you calling 'brat', you brat? I am older than you."

"Shut up," she said, raising a fist, but then immediately lowering it. "You were awake then, yes? You heard what Gori said, yes?"

"Mhm, apparently some stupid bitch is on the mend, but the hot guy she is totally in love with might not be able to recover," he whispered, a smirk present on his face, his eyes almost fully closed again.

"I am not in love with you, stupid," she replied, resisting the urge to hit him.

"Then why are you crying over me?"

"I am not, uh-huh! I just feel bad because it is probably my fault…"

"Sure. Whatever you say, China," he said, almost voicelessly and his eyes closed again.

"S-sadist? Are you okay?" She asked, concerned. She felt his forehead. "Sadist, your head is boiling, uh-huh. S-sadist?!" She poked hard him on the arm, no response. She screamed, "GIN-CHAN! GORILLA! HEALTH ME!"

* * *

Three men outside the infirmary stared at each other. Gintoki and Shinpachi were at a loss for words. Okita Sougo might die.

"GIN-CHAN! GORILLA! HEALTH ME!" Came a shrill scream.

"Kagura-chan?" Shinpachi said, worried.

"_Health me_?" Kondo repeated, looking at Gintoki with a confused face.

"She means 'help me', stupid," Gintoki said, kicking down the door of the infirmary. "KAGURA?! ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"It is not me…" She said, a look of shock on her face. "Gin-chan, the sadist is burning up, uh-huh… and he won't wake up…"

"Gorilla, get the doctor! Soichirou-kun has a fever!" Gin yelled, then walked over to Kagura, and then calmly said, "Kagura, go back to bed. You need rest."

"But, Gin-chan, the sadist's condition is not good, yes? Will he be okay?" She asked.

"He will be fine," Gintoki said, patting her head. "Losing sleep over it will not help his condition. Rest."

"But… But, Gin-chan, it's my fau-," Kagura began, but Gintoki stopped her.

"You need rest, Kagura."

Noticing his now serious tone, she did as she was told.

* * *

Kagura opened her eyes. There were voices outside again. She noticed that it was the Gorilla and Mayora.

"He refused to go to hospital?" Hijikata asked.

"Yes, they brought some equipment here though and they were able to stop his fever. He is on the mend," Kondo replied.

"Good."

"Hey, Toushi…"

"What is it?"

"Do you think he doesn't want to leave the infirmary because she's there?"

"It's possible… I never thought about that. Who knows? I'm sure if it is, he'll deny it anyway… even to himself."

Kagura heard footsteps. After a while, the sound disappeared. "They must have left, yes?" She muttered. She blushed. "Won't go to hospital because of me, yes?"

She found herself walking over to the sadist. There was a heart monitor and various other pieces of equipment, which Kagura had no idea what were for.

"Kagura…" Okita whispered, causing the girl to immediately look down, face bright red. The man was asleep still, but there was a smirk on his face.

"O-oi, Sadist, who said you could dream about me, huh?" She said, although she was flattered. "So you call me by my name in your dreams, yes?" She leaned closer so that their noses were almost touching. '_He is very handsome,'_ she thought, looking at his sleeping face. _'What am I thinking?! This is the sadist I am thinking about…'_ She didn't know what was going on in her head. She had never felt this before. _'What is wrong with me? Is this what Papi called… love…?'_ "NO WAY," she yelled, recoiling away from him. "I DO NOT LOVE THIS BASTARD!"

Because of her yelling, said bastard opened his eyes. "Eh, China, what are you doing?" He muttered, staring at the girl, whose expression was a mix of embarrassment and shock. "What's up?"

"N-nothing," she said, avoiding his stare. She wasn't too far away from him so he raised an arm and pulled on her clothing to get her nearer.

"Oi, China girl, what are you wearing?" He said, glancing at her attire. Apparently she hadn't noticed because she looked down and was shocked by what she saw. She was wearing a Shinsengumi uniform.

"I did not put this on myself, uh-huh. Where is the outfit I was wearing, huh?" She said, looking around.

"It was probably because what you were wearing was blood-covered. They did the same for me… What I want to know is who changed your clothes," he muttered darkly, when he said 'who' his voice went malicious.

"H-huh? What do you mean?" She asked.

"This compound is full of men… When the doctors were all in here, I didn't see any nurses… Your visitors, Danna and the glasses, are male," Sougo explained, angrily. "Therefore the person who changed you must have been male."

"I do not understand… Why are you angry?"

"Tch, China, you're stupid. You are a _woman_ and clearly a man has gotten you changed without your knowledge of it… He might have_ touched_ you…"

"So? You have to touch someone to get them changed…?"

"I mean touched you _there_ and _there_," he yelled, pointing at her lower region and at her chest.

"O-OH!" Kagura screamed in response, finally understand. "What a pervert! Who did it?! I will kill him, yes?"

"Relax, China," he replied, despite the fact that it was clear that he too was angered. "If we just check the label, I'm sure we'll know who it was… Turn around."

"O-okay," she said, unsure about this. The idea of not seeing what her rival was doing unnerved her. This could be a ploy to attack her. _'No, wait… He is too injured to do that, yes? And he is not a coward, he would always prefer a fair fight against me, uh-huh… Although he is a sadist…'_ She thought.

Okita did not attack Kagura, although he did use the opportunity to check out her ass. _'China really has matured over the years,' _he thought, smirking to himself. He pulled on the back of the Shinsengumi jacket she was wearing so he could reach the tag. "Tch, kneel down, I can't see it and I can't get up."

"Fine," she said, doing so.

"Okay, it says… WHAT?!"

"What does it say?"

"Nothing…"

"S-sadist?! Whose uniform is this?"

"Mine…"

"IT WAS YOU, YOU SICK PERVERT!" She screamed, raising a fist, prepared to hit him.

"China, it's obvious it wasn't me," he said simply, grabbing her fist. "Calm down."

"But you said the label would tell us who it was."

"How could it be me? I haven't moved from this bed. Obviously they just gave you one of my spares because they thought I wouldn't mind, and because I am one of the closest to your height… It's still much too big for you though."

"Who put it on me then?"

"I don't know. We will have to ask Kondo-san next time he comes in here."

"Okay. Um, do you mind?"

"Mind what?"

"That I am wearing this?"

"I don't care, China."

"Oh, okay."

"It looks stupid on you though. You should take it off," he deadpanned. She stared at him in surprise, but soon burst out laughing. "What?"

"That was in one of Gin-chan's dirty magazines… That exact line, uh-huh," she replied, laughing. Upon realisation of something, she stopped laughing and began to blush with wide eyes.

"What now?"

"In the magazine, yes? The guy used that to flirt with the girl, uh-huh. You are flirting with me, yes?"

"Don't be absurd, China. I wouldn't flirt with you."

"You were though… You flirted with me, yes!"

"I was making a joke!"

"Sure, whatever you say, Sadist," she said, grinning.

"Why do you look so happy?"

"No reason! I just realised something the Gorilla said to Mayora might be true, uh-huh, and I am kind of happy about it, yes?"

"You're weird, China."

"You are weirder, yes?"

"Shut up."

"Sougo! Queen-sama!" Kondo said, walking in. "You're both awake? Ah, yes. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Sougo muttered and Kagura nodded.

"Good, I'm glad," Kondo smiled.

"Hey, Kondo-san, who changed China's clothes?" Sougo asked, frowning.

"Oh, that was Otae," Kondo answered with a weird smile on his face.

"Anego was here?!" Kagura said, disappointed to have missed her.

"Yes. Your boss was supposed to bring some of your clothes but he forgot, so we had to put you in Sougo's clothes."

"Oh," Kagura and Okita said in unison.

"Anyway, you two, you need rest," he said, then looking at Kagura, he added. "You will be able to go home in a couple of days. Sougo, you will probably be like this for a few more weeks."

After Kondo left, Okita fell asleep quickly. Kagura turned to go back to her own bed, but Okita's hand grabbed onto her sleeve.

"Don't leave me," he whispered, "Aneue…"

And she didn't. She stood next to him for an hour, but growing tired, she laid down on his bed.

"I will not leave you like Kamui left me, Sadis-… No, Sougo…"

* * *

_Hiya, thanks for reading._

_Many thanks to all who reviewed the first ten chapters and to everyone who reviews this one. It's very, very helpful._

_HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A GOOD CHRISTMAS TOO! 3  
I don't know why, but to me this feels like a filler chapter… e.e_

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
I will update as soon as possible.  
I don't own Gintama or the characters. :P_


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